NE DELHI: The March 31 deadline set by home minister Amit Shah for the elimination of Left-wing extremism (LWE) from the country may pass uneventfully, after having served its purpose of creating the right psychological mindset among all the stakeholders – security and police forces, local administration, political brass of affected states, Maoist leadership and cadre, and the common people.Sources said that even though the March 31 deadline has dominated the discourse on LWE for the past one-and-a-half years, the actual date is unlikely to see any victory processions or chest-thumping. At most, there may be references to it in political speeches and public addresses by dignitaries, especially during visits to states once affected by LWE.“The purpose of the deadline was to set a definite goal… so that all hands were on deck and the counter-Naxal machinery could work in mission mode, with time-bound planning of operations to decimate the leadership and launch of initiatives aimed at rehabilitating ex-Maoists and rebuilding villages…” said a central govt officer.The results are there for all to see: the entire CPI(Maoist) leadership – barring one politburo member, Misir Besra, and one key commander, Papa Rao – have either been neutralised or have surrendered. CPI(Maoist) is now no longer a cohesive unit but a loose bunch hiding in the forests.“Obviously, the deadline created a psychological pressure to decide between facing bullets and taking the chance to lead a normal life… As senior colleagues fell to bullets, the remaining politburo and central committee members started leaning towards the latter option,” P Sundarraj, inspector general (Bastar range), Chhattisgarh police, told TOI.
