India, Feb. 22 -- Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said Naxalism would be eliminated from the country by the March 31 deadline set by the Government. Naxalism had spread across 12 states and countless districts of the country, and when the Centre resolved to uproot the menace, the CRPF and CoBRA force personnel played the most crucial role in the effort, he said, adding that such a huge, complex and difficult task was completed in just three years. He was addressing the 87th CRPF Day Parade here, the first ever in the northeast.

"Because of the CRPF personnel, we can confidently say that by March 31, 2026, the country will be completely free from Naxalism," he asserted.

Praising the force for Operation Black Forest in the Karre...