‘Terrorism will be eliminated before it can even take root’: Home Minister Amit Shah on Amritpal

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday detailed how his ministry dealt with extremist Amritpal Singh in Punjab, and said that they will not let terrorism flourish in the country.

The Home Minister made the remark in Rajya Sabha, while replying to a discussion on the working of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

"We will not allow terrorism, driven by any political ideology, to thrive in the country. It will be eliminated before it can even take root."

Shah said that those trying to follow Punjab separatist Jarnail Singh ‘Bhindranwale’ are now lodged in Assam jail.

Amritpal Singh and his associates have been in Assam's Dibrugarh jail under the NSA for the past two years.

He had fought the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as an independent and won from the Khadoor Sahib seat.

The radical preacher was arrested in Moga's Rode village on April 23, 2023 following an over a month-long manhunt.

Shah stated that India is safe in the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and underlined the government's zero-tolerance policy against terrorism.

He said terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, left-wing extremism and insurgency in Northeast are among the biggest challenges for India, and they have claimed the lives of 92,000 citizens in four decades.

On Naxalism

The Union Home Minister said that the Modi government has zero tolerance policy to terrorism and asserted Naxalism will be eliminated by March 2026.

On Terrorism

Shah said governments need to have courage and strong political will to take bold decisions and deal with terrorism, as he lambasted previous governments for "not taking action" against terrorists.

"There was a time when bomb blasts were routine. I want to tell the people of the country that, in the last 10 years, such bomb blasts have stopped. No one can now dare to carry out blasts. The country is safe under Narendra Modi. We are committed to uprooting terrorism," he said.

"With strong political will and strong management of Modi ji, the country is safe now. The opposition should not be worried. We will keep you (opposition) as well as the country safe," Shah said.

Shah on Kashmir

— There is peace in Kashmir, majority of terrorists in the northeast have surrendered.

— The Modi government fulfilled the dream of the architects of the Constitution by abrogating Article 370.

— The number of deaths of civilians and security personnel in terror incidents has drastically come down in Kashmir.

— There has been zero incidents of stone-pelting in the Valley since the abrogation of Article 370.