Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that the security and safety of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a topmost priority for everyone and the ministry is cautious about it.
“We are always concerned about the security of our Prime Minister. Maoism and extremism have now been reduced by many folds. Maoists are just fighting a lost battle,” said Rajnath Singh.
A letter found in the house of a person arrested for alleged Maoist “links” talks about the ultras’ mulling “Rajiv Gandhi-type incident” and suggesting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be targeted during his “road shows”, according to the police.
The letter, addressed to one Comrade Prakash by sender who identifies himself as ‘R’, talks about the requirement of Rs 8 crore to procure M-4 rifle and along with four lakh rounds of ammunition for the purpose.
The letter was recovered from the house of Rona Wilson who was among five people arrested from Mumbai, Nagpur and Delhi in connection with ‘Elgar Parishad’ held here in December and the subsequent Bhima-Koregaon violence in the district, the police said.
The Home Minister espoused that the number of Naxal-affected districts has come down from 175 districts to 90 districts in the last four years under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, adding that Maoist-related violence has come down drastically.
Rajnath further said, “I will still say that there are roughly just 10 districts in the country that is the most affected by Maoist extremism.”
Meanwhile, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar called the letter a desperate attempt by anti-national.
“The plot to assassinate the Prime Minister of the largest democracy is a desperate attempt by anti-national elements to destabilise the country. This is not an attack on just an individual but on the people of the entire nation. Let’s stand united against such destructive forces,” he said in a tweet.