“There are Indian modules too. They seem to have the capacity to attract radicalised youth to their fold. Some modules are loosely knit under an organisation called Indian Mujahideen. Many old cadres of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India have morphed into IM cadres. There are other Indian modules that espouse the cause of right wing religious fundamentalism or separatism. Many of these modules have acquired the capacity to make bombs”, Chidambaram said.
Addressing the conference of DGPs and IGPs here Mr. Chidambaram also said, Afghanistan and Pakistan were the epicentres of terrorism. He said, four out of five major terrorist groups were based in Pakistan and three of them continue to target India. He said that no country in the world was immune from terror attacks including the United States and the worst affected by terrorism are Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Terming as unfinished agenda his plan of setting up a National Counter Terrorism Centre, the Home Minister hoped that he will be able to secure an early government nod for it. He said the other ambitious project was NATGRID which got the Government approval on June 6th this year .He said, it is proceeding according to schedule and the phases that have been approved will be completed in 18 months.
The Home Minister described left wing extremism as a challenge to the country and there is no decline in the Naxal violence in Jharkhand and Bihar. Mr. Chidambaram said , there is a decline in communal violence in recent years in the country.
Chidambaram said the large presence of security forces in the North Eastern states was necessary to deal with the threat of violence and cases of extortion.
Northeast were still holding out and refusing to accept the offer of talks. The Home Minister, however, said there was remarkable improvement in the security situation in some of the North Eastern states but it has not attracted the attention that it deserves.
Mr. Chidambaram said last year he had referred to the appointment of two interlocutors to talk to various groups in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland. Expressing happiness on progress in this direction, he said government has reached cease fire agreements with both NSCN(IM) and NSCN(K),Suspension of Operation agreements with NDFB, UPDS, DHD, ANVC, KNO, UPF and, more recently, with ULFA. He added,the commencement of formal talks with NSCN(IM) and ULFA has been enthusiastically welcomed by the people.
The Home Minister said that country’s security forces were being modernized to deal with multiple threats. He also suggested that violence in Tribal areas should be dealt with non-lethal ways. Mr. Chidambaram also emphasized on the need of communication between different investigation agencies to check the delays in any probe.
‘There is no let up in attempts to infiltrate from across the line of control in Jammu & Kashmir. Besides, there are attempts to infiltrate terrorists via Nepal and Bangladesh into India as well as find a safe transit route from Sri Lanka to Tamil Nadu” he said.
The conference will prepare a broad outlook to deal with terrorism, extremism and left wing extremism besides effectively dealing with communal violence.
Ministers of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mullappally Ramachandran and Jitendra Singh; Director, IB, Nehchal Sandhu; National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon,; Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh; Secretary, Internal Security, U.K. Bansal,; Directors General and Inspectors General of Police of the States and the Union Territories; Chiefs of Central Police Organisations and other delegates were present. President’s Police medals for meritorious service and Police Medals for Distinguished service were also conferred on 37 police officers on the occasion.