Police under Concurrent List?

By Vinay Kumar

NEW DELHI, JUNE 18. There is a growing feeling in the Union Home Ministry that the level of cooperation between the Centre and the States, in matters having a bearing on the country's internal security, is wanting in many respects.

Peeved at the dismissal of its periodic advisories by the States, the Home Ministry is seriously considering whether a law should be framed to regulate the Centre's intervention under Article 355. The Ministry is also said to be applying its mind to the possibility of transferring the subject of ``police'' and ``public order'' from State List to the Concurrent List. According to an assessment by the Home Ministry, the time has perhaps come for the Centre's ``pro-active'' intervention in the management of internal security. The era of ``paper advisories'' seems to be giving way to the imperative of ``Constitutional directions'' and the next step will have to be action under Article 355.

According to Article 355 of the Constitution, the Centre is obliged to protect every State inter alia against internal disturbance. In deference to the federal autonomy of the States, the Centre has never invoked Article 355 for suo motu deployment of Central forces. It has not even intervened by issuing directions under Articles 256 and 257.

The decision to send Central teams to Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Gujarat and Bihar ran into rough weather over the last two years. Particularly, the team to West Bengal was denied cooperation from the Left Front Government. In other States, the teams made their assessments and submitted reports to the Ministry. Even if any action plan was evolved on the basis of the reports, results on the ground did not exist. In almost all its meetings with the Chief Ministers, Chief Secretaries, and Directors-General of Police, the Ministry had stressed the need to share intelligence reports.

The latest case of the caution, sent out by the Internal Security Wing of the Home Ministry, to the Bihar Government points to the laxity in tightening security. Based on specific inputs, the Home Ministry warned that private armies could strike in districts such as Gaya, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Patna and similar violence- prone areas.

The Ministry feels the States are more interested in obtaining Central assistance under various schemes such as modernisation of police forces, reimbursement of security related expenditure and rehabilitation of militants than being accountable for realising the objectives for which these grants are given. According to the appraisal, the States deliberately do not share information with North Block jeopardising, at times, the integrated strategies to combat militancy.

Making out a case for facing the challenge and threat to the internal security collectively, the Home Ministry feels a forged united approach should transcend the mundane concerns of political or administrative expedience.

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