Naxalism is losing ground: Rajnath Singh
Ambikapur, May 21: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that Naxalism is shrinking and losing ground although it still poses a challenge.
Singh, who was inspecting the passing out parade of the 261 Bastariya Battalion here in Chhattisgarh, also said that the casualties among security forces had gone down by almost 55 per cent.
"Naxalism is a challenge but I want to say that this menace is now shrinking and is losing ground," he said.
Singh said that Maoists do not want development as they know that if development takes place, "their sinister plan will never succeed".
"Many (Maoist) leaders have made a lot of money through illegal activities. Our government will unearth this ill-gotten wealth.
"We have decided that all those Left Wing Extremist leaders who have earned money by using poor people and manipulating their innocence will be punished," Singh said.
Congratulating the CRPF and the state police for controlling the geographical expanse of Maoists by 40 to 45 per cent, he said: "The success we have achieved in our fight in Chhattisgarh is due to good coordination between the state police and CRPF."
He told the CRPF troopers that "your family is our family. We will stand by you" at all times.
"The CRPF through its dedication, talent, courage and commitment has earned the great respect of the people of the country. Even in Kashmir along with the Army, they are fighting the terrorists with great courage and conviction.
"The constitution of Bastariya Battalion is a well-considered decision. We have relaxed the several norms to induct young men and women from Bastar region into this battalion.
"I want to tell the people of Chhattisgarh that their development is our top most priority and we will ensure all possible help that is needed to take the development of the state to new heights," he added.
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Novak Djokovic declines to address a past interview about getting sick in Australia in 2022
Melbourne, Jan 10: Novak Djokovic did not want to rehash — or even discuss at all, really — what he said Friday was a months-old interview with GQ magazine in which he recalled having high levels of metal in his blood from food he was served while detained before being deported from Australia in 2022.
“I would appreciate not talking more in detail about that, as I would like to focus on the tennis and why I'm here,” Djokovic said ahead of the Australian Open, which starts Sunday (Saturday EST).
“If you want to see what I've said and get more info on that, you can always revert to the article,” Djokovic said about the piece posted online this week.
Djokovic is working with Andy Murray as his coach in Australia in a bid to become the first player in tennis history with 25 Grand Slam singles titles.
In a lengthy GQ story that covered several topics, Djokovic spoke about what happened three years ago, when he was not vaccinated against COVID-19 and was kicked out of Australia.
“I had some health issues. And I realized that in that hotel in Melbourne, I was fed with some food that poisoned me," he said. "I had some discoveries when I came back to Serbia. I never told this to anybody publicly, but ... I had a really high level of heavy metal. Heavy metal. I had ... very high level of lead and mercury.”
The 37-year-old Serbian did not directly answer at the end of Friday's news conference when asked whether he had any evidence linking the blood levels he described to GQ to the food he ate in detention.
