Madhya Pradesh govt declares state Maoist-free, as CM marks two years in power

Bhopal: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav completed two years in office on Friday, with the state administration claiming a major achievement of making Madhya Pradesh Maoist-free with support from the Centre.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Chief Minister’s Office listed key decisions and development initiatives undertaken during the period.

However the most important claim remains the touted eradication of Nexalites.

Earlier ten hardcore Nexalites in Balaghat district with a combined bounty of Rs 2.36 crore surrendered giving up the path of violence, Outlook reported.

In another development on Sunday four women among other Nexalites belonging to the Communist Party of India's (Maoist) banned ‘Bhorsadev area committee’surrendered their weaponry including INSAS guns and AK-47s in front of Yadav.

‘Dindori and Mandla are now completely free from Naxal influence. A complete Naxal eradication campaign will begin in Balaghat from January. Those who return to the mainstream will get a rehabilitation package for 15 years, while strict action will continue against those who do not,’ Yadav said at the time.

The government’s development initiatives include progress on major central projects such as the Ken-Betwa river linking, Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal project, and a memorandum of understanding with Maharashtra for the Tapti Basin Mega Recharge project.

Among the highlighted measures were the increase in monthly assistance under the Ladli Behna Yojana from Rs 1,250 to Rs 1,500, renaming of ‘CM Rise Schools’ as ‘Sandipani Vidyalay’, and the establishment of a PM Mitra Park in Dhar district.

The government also cited its decision to ban loudspeakers at religious and public places and prohibit meat sales in open areas as part of its early administrative actions.

The list further mentioned the closure of all transport check-posts at inter-state borders following a corruption scandal that led to the arrest of a former inspector and the recovery of 52 kg of gold in Bhopal.

Wildlife conservation efforts were also highlighted, including the creation of two new cheetah habitats at Gandhi Sagar and Nauradehi after the introduction of Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park in 2022.

The government pointed to investment-focused events such as the Global Investors Summit and Regional Industry Conclaves held over the past year.

After the BJP retained power in the 2023 Assembly elections with 163 out of 230 seats, Mohan Yadav, a three-time MLA from Ujjain South and former Higher Education Minister, was sworn in as Chief Minister on December 13, 2023, succeeding four-time CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, now Union Agriculture Minister.

“In the past two years, Madhya Pradesh has witnessed tremendous growth and the pace of development has accelerated, with improvement in development indicators,” the Chief Minister’s Office said.

IANS