Visit victims’ families, end violence: Modi to Maoists

Dantewada, May 9: The first Prime Minister to visit this Maoist hotbed in three decades, Narendra Modi today asked Naxals to abjure the gun and allow peace so that the macabre drama of death could end to pave the way for development.
On a short visit here, Modi initiated welfare schemes worth Rs 24,000 crore for the Maoist hotbed of Bastar region, which include the setting up of an ultra-mega steel plant, a railway line, slurry pipeline and pellet plant.
“Only plough on the shoulders and not guns can bring development. And this will bring everyone to the mainstream of the country. There is no future for violence. The future is only of peaceful means.
“The birth place of Naxal movement Naxalbari has already given up violent means. Don’t get disheartened. The macabre drama of death will end,” he said.
Dantewada in tribal Bastar region is rich in mineral resources, especially iron ore. The area has witnessed a string of Naxal attacks in the past, with the worst being the 2010 assault that left 76 security personnel dead.
The Prime Minister asked the ultras to shun the gun for a few days and visit the families affected by their violence.
“This experiment will force you to change your heart and make you shun your violent means,” he said.
He said Dr Raman Singh, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, had already put pen and computer in the hands of children whose families were eliminated by bombs and bullets.
Modi said a lot of people have been killed by “mad men on the path of violence” and after meeting the families of victims he could say that they are fraught with many challenges and problems in their lives.
“Perhaps it is for the first time that a programme like this with MoUs worth Rs 24,000 crore has been signed. This rail link will connect you to the mainland and mainstream of India… Send iron out and get steel from outside. This would go on but now this has to stop. We will make steel from the iron ore,” Modi said.
He said, “Wherever one goes, people say do anything but ensure that our children get jobs.”
Modi said fruits of development must reach the poorest of the poor. Employment for the youth was the priority.
Taking a dig at the Congress, Modi said those who could not digest victory in 60 years could also not accept defeat.
“Those who have been disregarded by the people in elections are spreading canards about the government’s work. Last year, when I visited this region, papers were full of stories of corruption. We have changed that. No such news has appeared in the last one year. We have shown government can be run with honesty,” he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also launch three social security schemes in Kolkata today.
“Later today (Saturday) I will be in Kolkata to launch three new schemes for jan suraksha,” Modi said in a tweet.
During his two-day visit to West Bengal, Modi will launch “Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana” (accident insurance), “Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana” (life insurance) and “Atal Pension Yojana”.
The Jan Suraksha Yojana, under which the schemes would be launched countrywide, would help in reducing the number of zero balance bank accounts created under the Jan Dhan Yojana.