New Delhi, Oct 21 : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday praised the police, CRPF, BSF, and local administration for their "commendable" and "tireless" efforts to eliminate Maoism in India.

He said that Maoism will be eliminated by March 2026 and also mentioned how the Maoist-affected areas are now seeing a wave of development.

Singh paid homage to the martyrs on Police Commemoration Day at the National Police Memorial. On this day in 1959, ten valiant policemen laid down their lives in an ambush laid by heavily armed Chinese troops at Hot Springs, Ladakh. Since then, it has been observed as Police Commemoration Day every year.

Addressing the police personnel on the occasion, Singh said, "For a long time, Naxalism has been a problem for our internal security. There was a time when many districts in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra -- these states were affected by Naxalism. Schools in villages were closed, there were no roads, and people lived in fear. But we resolved that we would not let this problem persist any further."

"The way our police, CRPF, BSF, and local administration worked together in an organised manner is commendable," he added.

The Defence Minister expressed confidence that Maoism will be eradicated by March 2026.

"Our collective efforts over the past several years are bearing fruit. The entire country now has the confidence that by next year, there will be no trace left of this problem. For your information, let me tell you that this year too, several top Naxals have been eliminated. The number of districts affected by Left-Wing Extremism has also now been reduced to very few, and those too will be eliminated by March next year," he added.

He mentioned that areas that "once trembled under the terror of Naxalites" now boast roads, hospitals, schools, and colleges. "The areas that were formerly Naxalite hubs have now become education hubs. Areas of India that were notorious as Red Corridors are now transforming into growth corridors," he added.

Singh further said that the success of the campaign against Maoists can be gauged by the fact that "those who previously took up arms against the state are now surrendering and integrating themselves into the mainstream of development".

Praising the security personnel for this, he said, "Thanks to the tireless efforts of the security forces, this problem is now becoming history. All our security personnel deserve congratulations for this."

The Defence Minister said that for a long time, the contributions made by the police personnel were left "unnoticed"; however, the Modi government has changed it.

"As a government, we have focused not only on the security of the country, but also on our police forces engaged in protecting the country. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, our government also established the National Police Memorial in 2018 to keep the memory of our police colleagues alive and to pay respect to them," he said.

"Apart from this, we have provided the police with state-of-the-art weapons as well as better facilities. Adequate resources are also being provided to the states for the modernisation of police forces. Today, our police forces have modern equipment like surveillance systems, drones, forensic labs and digital policing," Singh further mentioned.

He said that as a nation, India faces many challenges, but to meet those challenges, the country has limited resources.

"Therefore, we must also focus on optimal utilisation of those resources. And this can only be achieved when we work with security agencies, with coordination and integration. Only a strong police force can build a strong nation, and this should be our goal," he added.

/IANS