Left Wing Extremism reduced significantly over 4 years: Govt

New Delhi, Feb 25 : The Union government on Wednesday informed Rajya Sabha that the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) violence in India has "significantly" declined in the last four years, and the menace can be tackled successfully through a combination of measures.

"It is worth mentioning that due to the measures adopted by the government, LWE violence has signifiacntly declined in the last four years i.e. 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014," Minister of State for Home Affairs H P Chaudhary said during the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha.

During 2011, 1,760 cases of LWE violence and 611 deaths were reported. These came down respectively to 1,145 and 415 in 2012, 1,136 and 397 in 2013 and 1,090 and 309 in 2014, the Minister said.

The government has adopted an integrated approach to deal with the LWE menace in the areas of security, development, enforcing rights and entitlements of local communities and public perception management, he said.

"It is the belief of the Government of India that through a combination of activity and development related interventions, the LWE problem can be successfully tackled," he said.

On the security front, apart from providing Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) battalions to assist state police forces in counter-LWE operations, the Centre provides assistance for capacity building in states through various schemes.

On the development front, Centre is implementing special schemes like improvement of roads and rail connectivity, health and education among others.

PTI