A US Department of State report has rated India’s Maoists as the world’s fourth most dangerous terrorist outfit, after Islamic State, Boko Haram and Taliban, in that order. The manner in which Maoists mutilated the bodies of our martyred jawans in Sukma is condemnable. There is nationwide anger over the massacre of 25 CRPF jawans and people expect the Centre to launch a major operation to root out Naxalites. We have to give more leeway to our security forces in conducting this operation. Let me share with you some facts which show that more people were killed by Naxalites, compared to Kashmir and the Northeast. In the last 12 years, there were 6100 victims of terror in Kashmir, 6360 people died in violence in Northeast, and 7442 people died at the hands of Maoists. Clearly, Naxalite terror is the biggest challenge facing the State. I have more facts to show that Naxalite violence has been curbed in a better manner during Modi regime compared to the previous regime, so far. The facts: In 2016, 65 jawans were martyred and 222 Naxalites were gunned down, in 2015, 59 jawans were martyred and 89 Naxalites were gunned down. Let’s look at the figures during UPA government. In 2013, 115 jawans were martyred and 100 Naxalites were gunned down, in 2012, 114 jawans were martyred and only 74 Naxalites were killed. Clearly, the trend has changed. Our security forces are having an upper hand in the battle against Maoists, but this is not enough. The barbaric attack on Monday, in which 25 brave jawans were martyred, clearly shows there were lapses, lack of intelligence and complacence. Such mistakes need to be corrected, soon.