At the NDTV World Summit 2025 on Friday, PM Modi said that over 300 Maoists have surrendered in 24 hours. This highlights the government’s efforts at countering domestic terrorism, as he expressed sorrow over the violence caused by the insurgencies.
Talking about the Maoist insurgency, he said that over the last 50 years, several people have been killed by them. The Maoists bombed institutions and the establishment of health and education facilities. The Prime Minister emphasised how their threat was an injustice to the locals.
He also expressed how this entire episode made him sad and how he has not revealed it to the world until now. The summit was also attended by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, Former Prime Minister of the UK Rishi Sunak, and former Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott. Talking about the efforts of the NDA government, he said that the authorities are continuously trying to bring the ‘wayward youth’ into the mainstream economic and social realms.
The mass surrender is a result of the efforts of the government, he further stated. The 303 Naxals who had surrendered recently owned arms and ammunition. Mr Modi also revealed that efforts to reduce Naxalism have succeeded, as the number of districts affected by the insurgency has reduced to 11 from 125 in the last 10 years.
Out of the total individuals, 170 surrendered in Chhattisgarh alone, last Thursday. The central state of India is one of the hardest hit by Naxalism. The Prime Minister said that a major change has been seen from Naxal youth blowing up vehicles and killing security personnel to organising ‘Bastar Olympics’.
Bastar has been the centre of discussion as over 150 Maoists led by Rupesh alias Satish Kofa have surrendered. Kofa has, however, stated that the focus of the group was not mainly on surrendering but changing their way of struggle by being a part of mainstream society.
During his speech, PM Modi also accused previous governments of promoting the ideology of Urban Naxalism, which prevented the suppression of Maoist terror in the country.
