New Delhi:Terror organisations are no longer limited to Jammu and Kashmir and conspire to spread their activities into the mainland of the country, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday.
"Attempts to take this threat to other parts of the country to create fear in the minds of our people are in evidence. Our Government is determined to fight and root out terrorism and its ideologies. Our security apparatus must be alert and resilient enough to meet the grave threats posed by terrorism to our polity and society," Singh said, a day after Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil's statement that India’s critical infrastructure was under threat from terrorism.
"No religion sanctions the killing of innocent citizens. We need a firm response from our security forces. We also need a resolute response from civil society and all our political parties," Singh said at a conference on Directors General of Police.
The Prime Minister said "positive developments" witnessed in Jammu and Kashmir had generated the hope that political solutions can be found to address public grievances.
About Northeast, he said, "While we are committed to the process of peaceful dialogue to resolve overwhelming problems, the Government will not countenance the deliberate use of violence against innocent citizens."
Referring to the Naxalite problem, the Prime Minister highlighted the need for faster development of Naxal-affected areas, and for a responsive, transparent and sensitive administrative machinery.
"We need a greater focus on employment generation, land reforms, redistribution of land, better education and health facilities, backed up by firm police action wherever needed," Singh said.
Speaking about the role of police in modern India, he said "if the police have to fulfil their mandated role in these changing times, they need to adapt themselves to new requirements.
"There is a need for the police machinery at the grassroots level to become more responsive to earn the trust of law abiding people. The nation needs a modern, capable and friendly police. We need a police service that is more gender sensitive, more humane and more respectful of the rights of citizens," he said.
The Prime Minister also stressed the need for a better intelligence gathering mechanism.
"We need to improve our capabilities both in respect of human intelligence and technical facilities as an aid to intelligence gathering.”
Speaking about the Police Mission and the recent Supreme Court order on police reforms, he said, "We need to act, and act fast, so that we have a first rate police force - a more skilled, competent, effective, just and humane police force."
The Prime Minister said he was conscious of the difficult environment in which the police, intelligence and security agencies had to work in todays world. "The single most important challenge in todays world is the management of change." Singh said the rapid urbanization posed unique challenges because of the breakdown of traditional social orders, which restrain unlawful action.
"These challenges need resolution within the framework of our liberal democratic polity. This is the challenge we need to face," the Prime Minister said.
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