Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday appealed to Maoists to eschew violence, lay down arms and surrender, and set March 31, 2026, as the date to eliminate Naxalism from the country.

“I appeal to Naxals to give up violence, lay down arms and surrender as the militants in the Northeast have done. If you do not listen, then an all-out operation will be carried out soon to end the menace,” Shah said, adding Naxalism was a threat to both humanity and internal security.

The home minister said security forces had achieved significant success in their operations against Maoists as the problem was now confined to just a few districts of Chhattisgarh.

“The Centre is committed to completely eliminate Naxalism by March 2026. Due to the policies of the Modi government, Left-wing extremism has now been restricted to a few districts in Chhattisgarh,” he said.

Maoists have suffered major setbacks this year with over 150 deaths reported alone in Chhattisgarh amid the ongoing counter-offensive operations launched by security forces in Naxal strongholds across the country.

Sources in the security agencies said the 182 Maoist deaths this year so far were the highest since 2009 when 154 ultras were killed. So far, 153 Maoists have been killed in Chhattisgarh — the state worst affected by Left-wing extremism — since January this year.

Seven districts of Chhattisgarh — Bastar, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Kanker, Sukma, Dantewada and Kondagaon — are the worst affected by Left-wing extremism.

Shah siad his ministry would chalk out a comprehensive welfare scheme in the next three months for the Naxal violence-affected people of Chhattisgarh in coordination with the state government.