Modi says armed Naxalism is over, calls Opposition an ‘obstructionist’ force

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that the government had kept its promise to rid India of armed Naxalism, and in the same speech accused the Opposition of turning into an "Avrodh Paksh", an obstructionist force, that was trying to divide the country. He spoke at the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas parade in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat, on the 151st birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

"I said last year that we would not rest until the country was free from Naxalism and Maoism; that promise has been fulfilled," Modi said, according to PTI. He added that the threat of what he called "dimagi Naxals", or Naxals of the mind, "remains very high", and listed securing the borders, stopping infiltration and "demographic changes", and moving towards a secular civil code as the country's next tasks.

What happened

The speech followed the Ekta Parade, which this year was built around the campaign against Left-wing extremism. According to Gujarat Samachar, 16 marching contingents from nine states and one Union Territory took part, alongside four central armed police forces, the NCC and a band. State police and central force units that had served in anti-Naxal operations marched past the Prime Minister while short films about their work played on screens. A National School of Drama production, "Naxal Mukt Bharat", brought together about 2,000 artists from the 126 districts once affected by armed Naxalism, and about 5,000 people from those districts were invited to watch, according to details released before the event.

Modi said that 126 districts had been affected by Left-wing extremism in 2015, and that "by March 2026, there was no district left in the country that continued to be affected by Naxalism", IANS reported. "The backbone of Naxalism has been broken," he said, adding that roads, mobile connectivity, schools and health care were now reaching those areas. He paid tribute to security personnel killed in the campaign.

He then turned to the Opposition. "It is our misfortune that, at this time, the opposition in the country has abandoned its duty and has transformed from an opposition party into an obstructionist party," he said, according to ANI. "This is not healthy opposition; this is sheer obstruction."

Without naming anyone, he asked: "Who is secretly meeting whom abroad? Which anti-India forces are supporting them? Who is speaking the language of India's enemies?" PTI described this as a veiled reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's foreign trips. Modi said that social media "is being used as a weapon, rumours are being spread, and India's image is being tarnished", and asked citizens to deal with it together.

He also pointed to the energy shock caused by the war involving Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, saying it was "a testament to India's capability that we did not allow the impact of this global energy crisis to hurt our citizens", and cited the World Bank's new estimate that extreme poverty in India had fallen below 3%.

The Prime Minister also inaugurated 31 tourism and infrastructure projects at Ekta Nagar worth Rs 426.71 crore, Gujarat Samachar reported.

Background

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, or National Unity Day, has been marked on Patel's birthday since 2014. Patel, India's first home minister, is credited with the integration of more than 550 princely states after independence, which Modi recalled in his speech.

The claim that Naxalism has ended rests on a deadline the government set for itself. Home Minister Amit Shah had repeatedly promised a "Naxal-free" India by 31 March 2026. At last year's Ekta Diwas, on 31 October 2025, Modi said that about 125 districts had been affected by Maoist violence before 2014 and that the number had come down to 11, with three still severely affected, according to the official PIB text of that speech.

In April this year, the Home Ministry told nine states, including West Bengal, that a review after 31 March had found no district still in the "LWE-affected" category, and that the category had been done away with, PTI reported. The ministry still lists 37 "legacy and thrust" districts and one "district of concern", West Singhbhum in Jharkhand, where it says security and development work must continue. Official figures put the toll of Left-wing extremist violence at more than 17,000 lives.

The phrase "dimagi Naxals" is not new. Modi used it in his Independence Day speech in August, and opposition leaders then called it a "sign of desperation", Scroll reported at the time.

Saturday's attack on the Opposition came as political temperatures rise over the Election Commission's special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. On the same day, INDIA bloc parties held what they called a "public impeachment" of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi, and they plan a rally at the Ramlila Maidan on Sunday.

What they are saying

No response from the Congress or other opposition parties to Saturday's speech had been reported by 9.30 pm IST. The Declaration will add their reactions when they are made.

In earlier exchanges, opposition parties have rejected the charge that they are obstructing development, and have accused the government and the Election Commission of using the SIR to remove eligible voters. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday listed six charges against the Chief Election Commissioner at the INDIA bloc protest.

"Though we have finished Naxals, the threat of 'dimagi Naxals' remains very high." - Narendra Modi, as reported by PTI

What happens next

The INDIA bloc's rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi is due on Sunday, 1 November, with the BJP planning a counter-march the same day. The Supreme Court is also hearing challenges linked to the SIR, including complaints about bulk deletion forms in Uttar Pradesh.

The Prime Minister's remarks on a secular civil code and on "demographic change" did not come with any announcement of legislation.

Key numbers

126: districts affected by Left-wing extremism in 2015, according to the Prime Minister

11: districts still affected in October 2025, according to his speech last year

0: districts in the "LWE-affected" category after 31 March 2026, according to the Home Ministry

17,000+: lives lost to Left-wing extremist violence, according to official records cited by PTI