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Sensitise the public: Manmohan
Special Correspondent
| "Some of them can function as anti-terrorism wardens" |
TAKING STOCK: Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a meeting on internal security in New Delhi on Tuesday.
NEW DELHI: In the battle against terrorism, the role of the public would be vital, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a meeting of the Chief Ministers on Internal Security on Tuesday.
"A major effort is necessary on our part to sensitise the public into becoming allies in this war and persuade some of them to function as counter-terrorist `wardens,' who would report on any kind of unusual activity. Similarly, co-opting the media and getting them to play a more positive role would be useful and this should form part of an overall media management strategy," he told the Chief Ministers.
Favouring a "blend of firm but sophisticated handling of naxalite violence with sensitive handling of the developmental aspects," Dr. Singh proposed the constitution of an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) which could be headed by the Union Home Minister, and include select Chief Ministers, to closely monitor the spread of the naxalite movement. He suggested that the EGoM could meet at frequent intervals and review special measures that need to be taken.
From left, Nitish Kumar of Bihar, Assam's Tarun Gogoi, Gegong Apang of Arunachal Pradesh, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy of Andhra Pradesh.
While Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh were in the forefront of naxal-related activities, he said that many other States remained vulnerable. "The real key in fighting naxalite violence is "good" intelligence. This would involve effective integration of strategic and tactical intelligence, properly leavened with ground-level information available at the level of the police station,'' he said.
Jammu and Kashmir, Dr. Singh said, had shown signs of improvement over the past two years. "We should remain on our guard in view of the continuing efforts by anti-India and anti-national elements to whip up emotions and transform these into a violent movement," he said.
Maharashtra's Vilas Rao Deshmukh and Shivraj Singh Chauhan of Madhya Pradesh.
The Prime Minister said the States were not doing enough even regarding the filling of existing vacancies in the police and other law and order agencies, or improving the quality of the State Special branches, or toning up the law and order administration. "Without effective law and order, economic development would be impossible," he told the Chief Ministers.
Later, briefing reporters, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil said the Prime Minister did not ring alarm bells but looked at the issues in a "correct manner and direction." National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan said that the security of all nuclear installations had been "totally revamped" and adequate precautions had been taken to ward off any threat to nuclear establishments.
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