Determined to address Naxal menace: PM
Maintaining that the Naxal menace occupies the centrestage in the internal security scenario on Sunday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said there is a development deficit in areas affected by Left-wing extremism.
He said his government was determined to address the deficit.
In his foreword in the “Government of the UPA: Report to the People”, Dr Singh said the UPA government has always adopted a nuanced approach in dealing with Left-wing extremism. He said, “We will deal firmly with extremism but we also recognise that there is a development deficit in the areas affected by Left-wing extremism and we are determined to address this deficit.”
The government launched an integrated action plan for accelerated development of 60 selected tribal and backward districts in 2010-11 which will be continued in 2011-12 also, he said.
While elaborating the internal security measures taken by the government, the report said, “The Centre has taken several measures to counter Left-wing extremism. These measures included setting up of a unified command in each of the states of Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa, and launching of a new scheme to assist state governments in construction or strengthening of 400 fortified police stations at `2 crores each in Left-wing extremism-affected districts.”
The internal security situation has shown improvement in the last couple of years.
The report said to ensure the defence preparedness of the country, the UPA government continued its focus on modernisation of the armed forces and indigenous production of advanced weapons systems. During the year 2010-11, an amount of Rs 1,225 crore was released to various states under the Scheme of Modernisation of State Police Forces, which is an important initiative for capacity building of state police forces, says the report.
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‘Pak ties prone to accidents’
Age Correspondent
New Delhi
May 22: Noting that though Indo-Pak relations are prone to accidents, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday asserted that India’s relations with Pakistan had been improving.
Dr Singh said foreign secretary-level talks are in the offing.
“Despite our best of the efforts, hitches are coming in the way of normalising relationship with Pakistan, as Indo-Pak relation is prone to accidents,” Dr Singh said.
Moreover, in its “Report to People”, the UPA government said it remains committed to a bilateral dialogue with Pakistan in an environment free of terrorism and violence and on the basis of Pakistan’s solemn commitment that it will not allow territory under its control to be used for fomenting terrorism against India.
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