New Delhi, April 20: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday urged Home Minister Rajnath Singh to prepare a comprehensive strategy to deal with the “re-emergence of extremism” in the state, amid reports that Sikh youths were being trained at ISI facilities in Pakistan.
During the 30-minute meeting, the chief minister apprised the home minister of the law and order situation in Punjab, including issues related to attempts to create disturbance in the state through targeted killings, senior official in the Home Ministry said.
“Amarinder stressed the need for preparing an all-encompassing strategy to counter the emerging extremism,” official sources said. To this effect he suggested strengthening of the Intelligence Apparatus, besides action against foreign handlers based in Canada, UK, USA, Italy, Germany, who are actively engaged in activities for revival of terrorism.
The home minister assured the Punjab CM to look into the states demands under the Modernisation of Police Force (MPF) scheme. Citing the state’s security concerns, Amarinder reiterated the demand for central assistance in the modernisation of the police force, a spokesperson of the Punjab government said.
He batted for designating Punjab as a Category A State for financial assistance at 90:10 Centre-State sharing on the pattern of Jammu and Kashmir and eight north-eastern states. Also, he sought allocation of additional funds to Punjab under MPF Scheme for strengthening of the State Special Branch for various law and order challenges being faced by the state, such as proxy war, trans-border terrorism and infiltration of drugs, weapons and explosives.
During the discussion, Amarinder said a number of targeted killings have taken place over the last one-and-half-years and expressed concern over such incidents.
He underlined the need to counter “activities on social media” aimed at disturbing peace and stability in the state. He put forth his opinion before the home minister that strengthening the state governments ‘Connect with Your Roots’ programme would also help in controlling such activities.
The Home Ministry had recently told a parliamentary panel that Sikh youths were being trained at ISI facilities in Pakistan to carry out terror activities in India. Senior ministry officials also told the Committee on Estimates, headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, that Sikh youths settled in Europe, the US and Canada were being “misguided and instigated against India with false and malicious propaganda”.
The chief minister appreciated the support being provided by the central agencies in probing the targeted killings.
The NIA is investigating these killings, suspected to be carried out as part of a conspiracy to disturb communal harmony in the state, another official said.
The chief minister and the home minister also discussed the steps taken to tackle the situation in a coordinated manner, the spokesperson said.
Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com
