|
|
PC: Forces to be reduced in J-K New Delhi, December 2 Replying to a passionate and - at times - a heated debate on internal security in the Rajya Sabha here this evening, the Home Minister said the Centre is willing to take "what appears to be a risky step" of withdrawing security forces and hand over law and order to the state police. “We are willing to withdraw a significant number of battalions,” Chidambaram said, adding that he could not give the number of battalions due to security reasons. The Home Minister buttressed his announcement saying the incidents of violence in J&K have been the lowest in 2009. “The number of civilian and security forces casualties has been the lowest this year. The forces have been stopping infiltrations and neutralising the militants. Festivals like the Id and Gurpurab have been peaceful. Thousands of Sikhs took out a procession in the valley to mark Gurpurab,” the Home Minister said. The Amarnath Yatra was peaceful while lakhs continue to visit the Vaishno Devi shrine in the state. On terrorism, the Home Minister said India is as vulnerable to a terror attack today as it was a few months ago because terrorist groups have forged alliances against the country. But he added, “God forbid, should there be any terrorist attack, our response will be swift and decisive." He said over a dozen attempts have been
foiled. Without naming Pakistan, Chidambaram said even while there has not been any terrorist attack in the last one year, the country cannot lower its guard because “our adversary has not changed its attitude...” he said while adding that “You will note that I am using the word adversary and not enemy...” The epicentre of the cross border terrorism is the junction point of Afghanistan and Pakistan and “… we are vulnerable”. On Naxals, the Home Minister took on the civil society that justified the violent methods of the Naxals. “The civil society says the Naxal cause is right.. while Naxals describe the state as an enemy, they say the Parliament is a rotten system and believe in armed struggle to seize power. For them, the police, the paramilitary and the Army are enemies. The time has come for the nation to decide how to deal with them,” he said. The Minister said that the government would use force to re-assert wherever we have lost control over an area. “There can be no development unless the government controls the area,” the Home Minister added. On ULFA, he said was likely to make a political statement in the next few days and that the government was ready to talk to them. He said the government policy would be zero tolerance towards the Jihadi or Hindu militants. “Terrorism is inspired by religious fanatics… no one should blame all Muslims
or Hindus.” BJP members Prakash Javadekar, Balbir Punj and SS Ahluwalia objected to his statement of “Hindu militancy”. Chidambaram said whether it is Islamic terrorism or Hindu militancy, there has to be
zero tolerance. Govt in talks with J&K separatists: PC New Delhi, December 2 Replying to questions on internal security during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, he said he favoured “quiet talks” to resolve the Kashmir issue, away from the glare of the media. He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier offered to talk to every shade of people in J&K, including those in the Hurriyat. It was prepared to talk to groups across the spectrum in the state to find a solution. The response to the statements from the government had been encouraging, he told the House. “I am in favour of quiet talks, and quiet diplomacy far off from the glare of the media,” he said. “At an appropriate stage, I will share with the House the contours of the settlement that may emerge,” he said, adding he could not share details of the talks at this moment. “I believe a solution will emerge through the process of quiet talks,” the minister said. ”If I am asked to disclose details (of the talks) at this stage, it will defeat the purpose of quiet talks,” he added. Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley asked whether he was aware of a statement by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah that Chidambaram had held two rounds of discussions with the separatists and that the issue had now taken on an international connotation. “I don’t know the context in which the statement was made, but I can assure the House that we are on the same page,” the minister replied. The Home Minister’s remarks came just days after Omar, in a shift of stand, favoured triangular talks among India, Pakistan and separatist leadership. Omar had also offered to be a facilitator if militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen wanted to come to the negotiating table. Answering supplementaries, he said there would be no talks with Pakistan unless it brought to book perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attack. “There are no talks with Pakistan,” he said. “The Prime Minister has already stated that unless Pakistan brings to book the perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and dismantles terror infrastructure (in that country), there is no scope for talks with Pakistan,” Chidambaram said. Asked whether China was now a party to the dispute, as had been demanded by some separatist groups, Chidambaram said: “A spokesman for the Chinese government has made it clear that they have no interest in the matter.”
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
