Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday accused the Congress of encouraging Naxalism and said incidents of Naxal violence have come down by 52 per cent in the nine-year rule of the Narendra Modi government.

Addressing a rally in Jagdalpur in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, Shah urged people to bring the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power in the state currently ruled by the Congress, promising that his party will make the entire state free of the Naxal menace.

He claimed that if the Congress comes back to power in Chhattisgarh, the money sent from the Centre for the state's development will be "diverted to Delhi through the 'ATM' of Congress".

Polling for the 90 assembly seats in Chhattisgarh is scheduled to be held in two phases on November 7 and 17 and votes will be counted on December 3.

Shah said the people of Chhattisgarh will celebrate Diwali thrice - once on the day of the festival, second when the BJP will be elected to power on December 3, and third when the construction of Ram temple will be completed in January, as Chhattisgarh is the "nanihal" of Lord Ram (the place of Lord Ram's maternal grandparents).

The rally was held in Jagdalpur, the headquarters of Bastar district, ahead of the filing of nominations of BJP candidates in three constituencies of Bastar.

The Bastar region was once considered as the worst affected by Naxalism and the menace still persists in some places. "Elect the BJP to power in the state, we will free the entire state of the menace," Shah said.

"In 9 years of the Modi government, incidents of (Naxal) violence declined by 52 per cent, deaths (in Maoist violence) came down by 70 per cent, civilian deaths deceased by 68 per cent, while the (number of) Naxal-affected districts declined by 62 per cent," the Union minister said.

"(Prime Minister) Modi ji has done a lot of work in the interest of tribals across the country. Apart from protecting their jal (water), jungle, zameen (land), the Modi government has worked to provide security, respect and inclusive development to tribals," he said.

Urging people to vote for the BJP, Shah said, "There are two options in front of you, one is the Congress which encourages Naxalism while on the other hand, there is the BJP which eliminates Naxalism. The Congress which sent crores of rupees of corruption to Delhi Darbar, while the BJP which is providing gas cylinders, toilets, drinking water, health facilities, grains and houses to crores of poor people."

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