Dr Singh asked the investigating agencies to be free from biases and prejudices of any kind in their probe.
“While law must take its own course, we need to ensure that our investigating agencies are free from biases and prejudices of any kind” Dr Singh said while addressing the National Integration Council (NIC) meeting here on Saturday.
Prime minister said that there was need to recognize that members of the minority communities often have a perception of being unfairly targeted by law enforcement agencies in the aftermath of unfortunate incidents.
He also asked media to play an important and constructive role in promoting peace and harmony in the society.
He expressed satisfaction that in recent years relations among various communities have by and large remained harmonious. ‘Members of this Council have played an active role in ensuring that people respond with maturity to developments that may otherwise flare up communal tempers’, he said adding that nevertheless, we need to maintain a continuous vigil in this regard.
Dr Manmohan Singh said the Delhi High Court blast was a stark reminder that there can be no let up in the vigil. He said everyone must unequivocally send out a message that pursuit of violence cannot be justified under any circumstances and reaffirm the collective resolve to fight the menace of terrorism in all its forms with available means.
The Prime Minister said no civilised society can tolerate or endorse loss of innocent lives in the pursuit of any ideology. He said, institutions and instruments of the country’s democratic polity allow sufficient opportunity for articulating differing view without resorting to violence.
Dr Singh stressed on the need to identify and address the causes of radicalisation of some of the country’s youth. Referring to steps being taken to strengthen security agencies, Dr Singh said there was a need to continuously upgrade and strengthen them and the intelligence gathering apparatus to deal more effectively with the newer methods and technologies that the terrorists and Naxals adopt.
The Prime Minister said, the government has tried hard to strengthen the country’s security apparatus. He said intelligence sharing mechanism under the Multi-Agency Centre has been bolstered and the National Intelligence Grid is being implemented so that intelligence from various sources can be accessed and analysed to identify actionable points.
Dr Singh said the problem of Naxalism has a development dimension also and the Centre is making special efforts for development of backward areas, many of which are affected by Left-wing extremism.
The meeting was attended by senior Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, Leaders of Opposition in Parliament, leaders of national and regional political parties among others.
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