‘5,000 youths have shunned Naxalism to join mainstream’

Mumbai: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said Naxalism has declined significantly in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli, as nearly 5,000 youths have quit the outlawed movement, joined the mainstream and many of them have got employment.

In the next five years, Gadchiroli will become the highest revenue-generating

district in Maharashtra, he said at the BJP’s state-level convention at Shirdi in Ahilyanagar district.

Gadkari appealed to the BJP workers to channel the party’s electoral success into meaningful societal transformation.

The victory in the last year’s state assembly polls should lead to the establishment of “surajya” (good governance), he said.

Highlighting the progress made in Naxal-affected Gadchiroli, he said there was a time when visiting some areas in the district was difficult even for public representatives.

“Today, nearly 5,000 youths have shunned Naxalism and come back to the

mainstream. Many have got jobs like drivers, fitters, among others,” the senior BJP leader said.

Engineering and polytechnic colleges have been established, and garment manufacturing for exports has begun in the district, he said.

The area, once backward, has now generated employment for 10,000 tribal youths, Gadkari said.