JAGDALPUR: Home minister Amit Shah, who wound up his first visit to this erstwhile ‘Red’ pocket borough since Left-wing extremism was eliminated, on Tuesday listed four dates as milestones in the journey to making Bastar Naxal-free, the first being Dec 23, 2024, when a BJP govt was elected in Chhattisgarh; Aug 24, 2024, when the March 31, 2026, deadline for uprooting Naxalism was announced; March 31, 2026, before which Naxalism was completely uprooted; and May 19, 2026, which marked the launch of an initiative aimed at doorstep delivery of all govt benefits to the tribals of Bastar by repurposing security camps into one-stop public service centres. “It is a matter of great pride that Naxalism had been completely eradicated,” Shah said but added that a key obstacle in this journey until Dec 13, 2023, was the lack of cooperation from the erstwhile Congress govt in Chhattisgarh (headed by Bhupesh Baghel). “I can now say without any hesitation that while other non-BJP govts have cooperated in the fight against Naxalism, the Congress govt in Chhattisgarh did not,” he said at a press conference in Jagdalpur. “After the BJP govt was elected in Chhattisgarh on Dec 13, 2024, we stepped up our efforts. On Aug 24, 2024, after reviewing the LWE situation at the annual conference of police chiefs of all states, March 31, 2026, was declared the deadline for making the country Naxalism-free. The goal was achieved before the deadline ended.” The latest milestone he mentioned is May 19, 2026, when an initiative to create 70 Veer Saheed Gunda Dhur ‘seva dera’ (public service camps) and push integrated development across Bastar stands launched. “Contrary to the narrative peddled by the left-leaning intelligentsia that Naxalism was due to the lack of development in affected areas, the reality is that Naxalism was an outcome of lack of development,” he said. “There were far more backward areas in the country… why is it that Naxalism did not raise its head in these areas? The other areas eventually saw development, but Bastar remained backward with locals denied basic development...” “Now that Bastar is Naxal-free, an initiative to push integrated development has been launched… The aim is to compensate locals, denied benefits for the last five decades, with doorstep delivery of govt schemes and benefits.”