Union Minister details steps to check ISI activities

By Our Staff Reporter

RAJAHMUNDRY, JULY 4. The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mr.Ch. Vidyasagara Rao, has said there are no reports confirming the involvement of political parties including the Congress, the TDP and BJP, as also Pakistan's ISI in the series of blasts in churches, mosques and temples, but going by the modus operandi the needle of suspicion points to the ISI.

Mr. Vidyasagara Rao told newsmen here on Tuesday Pakistan had been trying to destabilise India and the main instrument for this purpose was the ISI. The series of blasts and other incidents however, had failed to whip up communal passions, because people had confidence and trust in the Government headed by Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, he asserted.

Besides strengthening internal security and law and order, special measures were initiated to check infiltration from across the border and a constant vigil was being kept on the activities of the ISI. CISF personnel were deployed at airports and senior officers were posted at the Atari railway station (Train from Pakistan arrives here).

It was not easy to check infiltration which had been going for the last 50 years. But laws dealing with this problem were being strengthened. He said the number of people who come and go back to Pakistan is in lakhs. But the number of people who came with valid documents but overstayed here is about 11,000. Of them the whereabouts of more than 2,000 were not known, he said.

The Government was constantly reviewing the activities of the ISI and it would publish a white paper on its activities soon. The series of blasts was unfortunate, but what was more painful was the allegations and counter-allegations being made by political parties, Mr. Vidyasagara Rao said. More than the police and other Governmental organisations, it was the inherent strength of our culture and traditions that should ensure communal harmony, he said.

Answering questions, the Home Minister said there many ills were afflicting the Police department. For the first time, systematic and concrete steps were proposed to streamline the police setup. The Minister did not agree with the view that the Police department had been politicised. Police would arrest the culprits, Mr. Rao asserted, observing, it was not correct to interfere with the functioning of the police.

The Home Minister welcomed the State Government's move to amend the Criminal Procedure Code which would dispense with the requirement of physical presence, in the court, of a prisoner under remand, and instead seeks to arrange a video-interface between the magistrate and the prisoner. This would not only save several crores being spent on providing escort to remand prisoners while they were taken to court, but also enable police to concentrate on more important work, he said. This system was being implemented in a number of foreign countries, the Minister pointed out.

Dr. Lakshman, BJP's deputy floor leader, Mr. Ayyaji Vema, MLA, and Mr.G. Chittibabu, city unit president, were present. Later the Home Minister reviewed various aspects including stay of foreigners in the district and other issues concerning communal harmony. The District Collector, Mr.Satish Chandra, the Additional SP, Mr. Satyanarayana Rao, the Sub-Collector,Mr.N. Sreedhar, and the DSP, Mr. Chowhan, and other officers were present.

Addressing Assembly conveners and joint conveners of the BJP at Jampeta Kalyanamandapam here, Mr. Vidyasgara Rao exhorted them to go to rural areas and do constructive work. Construction of a checkdam for the benefit of the people by the BJP would go a long way in strengthening the party at the grassroots level. While globalisation was a fact of life, efforts should be made for strengthening self-rule, he said. Mr. Krishnam Raju, MP, presided over the meeting.

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