New Delhi, May 8 (IANS): Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday called for the choking of financial resources of left-wing extremist groups and said it was the fundamental instrument to counter Maoist violence.
The Home Minister’s remarks came during his inaugural address at the day-long security review meeting here with the Chief Ministers of Maoist-affected states, days after leftist rebels killed at least 25 paramilitary troopers in Chhattisgarh.
The Home Minister also asked for implementation of the new doctrine “SAMADHAN” for use in security operations: S - Smart Leadership, A - Aggressive Strategy, M - Motivation and Training, A - Actionable Intelligence, D - Dashboard-based KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and KRAs (Key Result Areas), H - Harnessing Technology, A - Action Plan for each threat and N - No access to financing.
He called for a more proactive approach to deal with left-wing extremism.
The Home Minister added that the left-wing extremist groups were trying to weaken democracy in the country but would “never succeed” in doing so. He also called for increased use of technology in security operations and to counter left-wing extremism.
Highlighting the need for motivation and training, Rajnath Singh said there was a need to improve the training and other facilities at the camps. He also called for the need to adhere to the Standard Operating Procedures to ensure safety of the security forces.
Rajnath Singh said the whole country was agitated over the “martyrdom” of 25 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in Sukma.
He stressed on the need to discuss and work out an “integrated strategy” of security by giving impetus to development in 35 worst-affected districts to eliminate the Maoist influence.
He said that “the presence of our forces should instil fear” among the leftist rebels and a sense of confidence among the local people and tribals.
Rajnath Singh asked the states to take the ownership of Maoist operations and that the paramilitary forces should cooperate with them fully. “At the same time, the force on the ground should not lack leadership.”
He accepted that the technical intelligence inputs in Bastar Zone of Chhattisgarh were very low in comparison to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and the reason for this was the only 20 per cent effective connectivity.
Rajnath Singh also advocated use of surrendered Maoists to collect intelligence. The minister also focused on establishing specific procedures between state police and central forces for the exchange and use of intelligence.
“We need to use high resolution cameras, Global Positioning System, thermal imaging, radar and satellite images. As Maoists mostly use looted weapons, we should also use trackers in weapons, biometrics in smart gun triggers and trackers embedded in shoes.”
He also mentioned that the Centre has deployed 118 battalions of paramilitary forces to assist states in fighting Maoists.
The day-long meeting on Monday was also attended by the Secretaries of the union ministries, besides Chief Secretaries and police chiefs, according to an official statement.
“A holistic review of the situation will be undertaken covering a wide canvas of security and development issues, particularly infrastructure building,” he said.
Issues like role of states in assisting paramilitary forces in their operations, raising and employment of India Reserve Battalions and Special India Reserve Battalion were expected to be part of the discussion, the statement said.
It would take stock of capacity building and intelligence issues like vacancies in state police forces, capacity building of state intelligence units and other ministry-wise related matters.
