On Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's 151st birth anniversary, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi stood at a ceremony in Bhubaneswar on 31 October 2026 and made a declaration that reframes the state's security landscape entirely: Odisha is now completely free of Naxalism, with nearly 1,000 citizens from 19 formerly Naxal-affected districts gathered at the Ekatanagar Mahamanchha (Grand Unity Stage) as living proof.

A Tribute to the 'Iron Man' and the Vision of Akhand Bharat

Majhi paid homage to Sardar Patel — honouring him as Lauha Manav, the Iron Man — crediting the founding statesman's ideal of an undivided India as the guiding philosophy that continues to shape national policy. The Chief Minister highlighted two milestones that, in his framing, represent the full honouring of Patel's legacy: the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, which he called the correction of a 'historical mistake' relating to Kashmir, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's inauguration of the Statue of Unity at Kevadia, Gujarat — the world's tallest statue — dedicated to Patel in October 2018.

National Unity Day has been observed every 31 October since 2014, the year the Modi government institutionalised the observance to mark Patel's birth anniversary. This year's edition carries an added charge: it falls on the 151st jayanti of the Iron Man himself.

Nineteen Districts, One Declaration: Odisha's Anti-Naxal Milestone

The centrepiece of Majhi's address was the Naxal-free announcement. Representatives from 19 districts — areas that once struggled under the shadow of Left Wing Extremism — attended the Bhubaneswar event, a symbolic choreography designed to underscore the government's claim that the insurgency's grip on Odisha has been broken. The Chief Minister credited Union Home Minister Amit Shah's leadership and the coordinated push by central and state forces for the transformation.

Central and state governments have stepped up anti-Naxal operations since 2014, progressively shrinking the number of Left Wing Extremism-affected districts across the country. Odisha, which shares forested borders with historically insurgency-prone states, has been a focal point of that campaign. Majhi argued that the resulting law-and-order stability is now directly enabling a 'new era of large-scale investment and industrialisation' in the state.

Odisha Police Saluted; Youth Called the Real Answer to Extremism

In a pointed passage, Majhi congratulated Odisha Police for their 'indomitable courage and bravery' in maintaining law and order — a rare public salute that carries weight on a day marking national integration. But he reserved his sharpest message for what he called forces attempting to create anarchy by disrespecting the Constitution, and for a 'hidden Naxal mentality' still lurking in public life. His answer: Odisha's aware youth have already delivered a fitting democratic response.

The framing positions young Odias not just as beneficiaries of security but as active agents who have rejected extremism through the ballot and civil engagement — a narrative that ties internal-security success to democratic legitimacy.

From Patel's Pledge to a 'Prosperous Odisha'

Majhi closed with a call that stitched together the personal and the national: irrespective of caste or religion, all Odias should unite to build a Samriddha Odisha (Prosperous Odisha) as their contribution toward a Sashakta aur Vikasit Bharat — an empowered and developed India. It is a formulation the BJP government has consistently used to align state-level governance goals with the Centre's Viksit Bharat development vision.

With investors watching and industrial corridors being planned across eastern India, the timing of the Naxal-free declaration is anything but accidental.