At the annual conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police in Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned the security forces of the nation of the dangers which they might face during the upcoming state assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
Dr Singh praised the security forces for their commendable work during Chhattisgarh polls, however, also reminded of the communal tensions in UP's Muzaffarnagar that killed 47 people in September.
Here are the highlights of his speech:
- I am very happy that the Intelligence Bureau, or IB as it is commonly called, has achieved some major successes in this special year.
- It was the intelligence gathered by the IB that led to the arrest of some suspects of several terror attacks. I congratulate the IB.
- Our intelligence, police, paramilitary forces have done commendable work during polls in the Naxal affected areas of Chhatisgarh.
- During the current year some States have witnessed a substantial increase in the number of communal incidents. A major communal clash in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining districts of UP in Sept. took a large toll of lives and displaced thousands of people. Once disturbances occur they must be tackled with the utmost firmness, without prejudice, fear or favour.
- State DGPs present here have the responsibility to ensure that their police force acts in the required manner in preventing communal actions.
- We need to find creative solutions which do not curb the freedom of expression and the ease of communication that social media provides. We witnessed misuse of social media and SMSes to fan violence during the recent disturbances in Muzaffarnagar, and also last year. Our law and order agencies must ensure that trivial or local issues are not exploited by vested interests to inflame communal passions.
- It is important that we don't let up on our efforts to root out the menace of Naxalism and continue to build on our successes.
- We also need to improve the quality of governance and the pace of development in the Naxal affected areas.
- There is also a likelihood of attempts to disrupt the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The security forces need to be careful
- Resurgence of terrorist groups, particularly L-e-T and increased infiltration attempts call for heightened vigil and coordination.
