NEW DELHI: India is in safe hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah told Rajya Sabha on Friday, underlining the government’s zero-tolerance policy against terrorism and his vow to end Naxalism by March next year.
Replying to a discussion on the working of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Shah also talked about incidents of weapons being drone-dropped from across the country, and said India is very close to getting a complete anti-drone solution, and it will be achieved within six months.
The home minister attacked the Opposition for its criticism of the three-language policy in the National Education Policy 2020, alleging they are doing so out of political reasons and to hide their “corruption”.
Trying to put to rest the ongoing language row, especially in Tamil Nadu, the home minister said Hindi is not in competition with any other language and it was, in fact, a friend of other languages.
He also said that from December 2025 onwards, he will communicate with chief ministers, MPs and common people in the language of the respective states.
He also asserted that once the BJP comes to power in Tamil Nadu, it will start imparting medical and engineering education in Tamil.
On the issue of terrorism and Naxalism, he said the Modi government has zero tolerance policy to terrorism and asserted Naxalism will be eliminated by March 2026.
Citing the example of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which left 166 dead, Shah said earlier terrorists could easily enter the country, target hotels and railway stations, and escaped without any action being taken against them.
Shah said governments need to have courage and strong political will to take bold decisions and deal with terrorism, as he lambasted previous governments for “not taking action” against terrorists.
The previous UPA government, driven by vote bank politics, was lax in acting against terrorism, he alleged.
“There was a time when bomb blasts were routine. I want to tell the people of the country that, in the last 10 years, such bomb blasts have stopped. No one can now dare to carry out blasts. The country is safe under Narendra Modi. We are committed to uprooting terrorism,” he said.
“With strong political will and strong management of Modi ji, the country is safe now. The opposition should not be worried. We will keep you (opposition) as well as the country safe,” Shah said.
There is peace in Kashmir, majority of terrorists in the northeast have surrendered, and the country is moving forward under the leadership of Modi, he added.
He also spoke about action against those trying to follow Punjab separatist Jarnail Singh ‘Bhindranwale’, saying they are now lodged in Assam jail.
“We will not let terrorism, driven by any political ideology, flourish in the country,” he asserted.
The home minister did not speak on the violence in Manipur, saying he would address the issue in detail when imposition of President’s Rule in the northeastern state comes up for discussion.
Shah said the Modi government fulfilled the dream of the architects of the Constitution by abrogating Article 370.
“Article 370 was the basis of separatism in Kashmir. But I also thank the architects of the Constitution, they made the provision temporary, and the way to abrogate it was also included in the Article,” Shah said, adding that it was not removed earlier due to vote bank politics.
He said terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, left-wing extremism and insurgency in Northeast are among the biggest challenges for India, and they have claimed the lives of 92,000 citizens in four decades.
He also said the number of deaths of civilians and security personnel in terror incidents has drastically come down in Kashmir, while there has been zero incidents of stone-pelting in the Valley since the abrogation of Article 370.
“There has been a 70 per cent reduction in deaths due to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir during the Modi government’s tenure and terror incidents too fell sharply,” he said.
He said within 10 days of the Uri and Pulwama attacks, the Modi government hit back at Pakistan by carrying out surgical and air strikes.
Talking about development in J&K, he said, “Around 40,000 government jobs were provided during 2019-24 in Jammu and Kashmir and 1.51 lakh self employment created.”
Talking about the Northeast, Shah said the region is by and large peaceful and a new era of development has been ushered in since the Modi government came to power.
He said the government has signed several peace accords since 2019, while about 10,000 terrorists have surrendered in this period in the Northeast. He also said India is very close to getting a complete anti-drone solution, and it will be achieved within six months.
There have been incidents of weapons coming in and attacks being carried out using drones from across the country. Shah said India is very close to getting a complete anti-drone solution, and it will be achieved within six months.
There have been incidents of weapons being dropped and attacks being carried out using drones from across the country.
Shah also claimed that the government has launched a war on drugs and narcotics, asserting that not an ounce of narcotics will be allowed to come in or go out of the country. He also said money earned from drug trade is used for terror incidents, and no one would be spared. (PTI)
