Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said that the “serious” challenge of Left-wing extremism (LWE) had entered its “last leg” and that Maoists were now resorting to cowardly ambushes against security forces as they are unable to undertake a direct fight.

Addressing the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on the occasion of its 79th Raising Day, the Home Minister said that due to the operational efforts of these forces, LWE incidents had “drastically” gone down in the recent past and the casualty rate of extremists had gone up.

Mr. Singh asked the force to create awareness about government-run schemes amongst “peace loving” people in troubled areas so that these citizens can have an increased trust on their country and the government.

“I can say that the [LWE] problem in the country has entered its last leg and the people very well understand that Naxals are anti-poor, anti-tribal and anti-development,” he said, while referring to killing of CRPF men during road construction work in LWE-affected areas.