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Fight against terror a joint initiative, PM tells states
New Delhi, April 16 Shortly after the Prime Minister inaugurated the annual conference of chief ministers on internal security, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik came down heavily on the Centre, accusing it of trampling on states’ powers by meddling with subjects under the Constitution’s state list. The three CMs vehemently opposed the Centre’s proposal to constitute the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC). West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who too is opposed to the creation of the NCTC, did not attend today’s meeting, though her party, Trinamool Congress, is a crucial ally of the UPA. Her state was represented by Finance Minister Amit Mitra. In his address, the Prime Minister sought to reassure the chief ministers that the Centre would keep their views in mind on the NCTC issue. As suggested by some of the CMs, a separate meeting on the NCTC would be convened on May 5. In an obvious reference to yesterday’s coordinated attacks by the Taliban in Afghanistan, Manmohan Singh said “When we see turbulence in the region and growing factors of instability around us, we must strengthen our defence against terrorism.’’ He said terrorist groups today were nimble, more lethal than ever before and increasingly networked across frontiers. Accurate and timely intelligence was a prime necessity if the terrorism was to be defeated effectively. “There is no question that the burden of the fight against terrorism falls largely on the states’ machinery. The Centre is ready to work with the states to put in place a strong and effective institutional mechanism to tackle this problem,’’ he added. Talking about Jammu and Kashmir, he noted that there has been a perceptible improvement in the security and law and order situation in the state. As a result, the state witnessed the highest inflow of tourists and pilgrims during 2011. On the Left wing extremism, Manmohan Singh said though 2011 was better than 2010, “We still have a long way to go, both in terms of including people in the affected areas in our growing economy and society and in terms of providing them with adequate account of security.’’ He said the situation in some of the north-eastern states, however, remained complex. He was hopeful that the implementation of infrastructure projects there would create conditions conducive for the return of normalcy. Home Minister P Chidambaram said there was a decline in violence in 2011, be it in J & K, north-east or the Left wing-extremism affected areas. However, Assam has emerged as new theatre of Maoist groups. International border in the West and the LoC continued to be vulnerable to infiltration. He urged the states to remain vigilant to prevent any communal violence. Omar presses for troop pull-out
New Delhi, April 16 would bolster trade between the two sides. On the other hand, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, who holds the Home portfolio, drew the attention of the Centre to the looming threat of Naxalism and sought a special security package, citing challenges of narco-terrorism and terrorism to Punjab. In a significant indication of the Naxal threat being real, Badal appealed to the Centre to upgrade Punjab to category “A” status instead of “B” to tackle the challenge. “This is a must considering historical roots of Naxal agitation in Punjab,” Badal said. Delineating the special security package, he sought extension of the police modernisation scheme by a decade; raising police modernisation fund from Rs 30 crore to Rs 150 crore and nod to Punjab’s demand to raise one more Indian Reserve Battalion. While Omar Abdullah backed withdrawal of troops from J&K and cited a decision to remove 24 bunkers from Srinagar city in near future, Badal referred to the challenges Punjab faces from Pakistan with which it shares 553-km-long international border which also adjoins “a troubled J&K”. Reminding the gathering of the militancy days, Sukhbir Badal said, “Punjab is the only state that has successfully fought both Naxalism and terrorism, but we need to be cautious about the resurgence of these threats.” To combat narco-terror, Badal sought special equipment in the border areas to freeze signals from Pakistani SIM cards being used by smugglers. He said the budget of Rs 1,000 crore a year for police modernisation was a pittance when compared to even MNREGA that got Rs 30,000 crore a year. Omar maintained time had come to reduce footprints of the armed forces from Jammu and Kashmir so that the people could feel the impact of changed security scenario in the state. He said the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) had played its role when the insurgency was at its peak and it needed to be progressively reduced from districts that were not affected by militancy. “Now there is a distinct change in the security environment in the state and a good case for reviewing the continuation of AFSPA from areas and districts which are not affected by insurgents,” Omar said. He said as a confidence-building measure, 24 bunkers would be removed from Srinagar city in coming months. “Twelve battalions of the BSF and the CRPF have been withdrawn from the state since 2009, besides removing 39 bunkers from civilian areas and the process will continue in future as people want peace,” Omar said. Omar praised the commitment and professionalism of security forces, the J&K Police and the adoption of newly framed standing operating procedures (SPOs) to control law and order disturbances. He said strict surveillance of borders by the security forces and their tireless efforts in neutralising terrorists had resulted in considerable reduction in infiltration bids. However, he opposed the amendment to the Sections 4 and 139 of the BSF Act 1968 aimed at giving the force powers of arrest, search and seizure. He also spoke about the rehabilitation policy announced in 2010 and said 1,034 applications had been received from parents and relatives of the youth who had crossed border in past two decades. He claimed the coalition government in the state had been pursing the agenda of bringing governance closer to the people to enable them participate in decision-making. Omar appreciated the PM’s gesture of hosting a lunch for Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari recently. He said, “The National Conference-Congress government believes that agitations and confrontations are no means to resolve issues involving contrary positions.” (with inputs from Sumit Hakhoo)
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