OPENING STATEMENT OF THE HOME MINISTER

SHRI P CHIDAMBARAM
AT THE
CONFERENCE OF CHIEF MINISTERS ON INTERNAL SECURITY
ON TUESDAY, 1ST FEBRUARY, 2011
AT
NEW DELHI

Hon’ble Prime Minister, my senior colleagues the Finance Minister

and the Defence Minister, Chief Ministers, Ministers, Ministers of State in

the Ministry of Home Affairs, Lt. Governors, Administrators, senior

officials of the Central Government, senior officials of the State

Governments, Ladies and Gentlemen.

2. I welcome you to this conference on Internal Security. I am glad

that this conference has become an annual event. This is the fourth such

conference. I think that in every succeeding conference we have been

able to build on the conclusions of the previous conference and this has

helped the Central Government and the State Governments to enhance

their capacity to meet the challenges to internal security. I am grateful to

the Prime Minister for agreeing to inaugurate the conference and spend

the better part of the day with us. I am also grateful to the Chief

Ministers and Heads of delegations for accepting our invitation and joining

the deliberations.

3. I wish to give you an overview of the internal security situation in

the country.

1
4. We live in a troubled neighbourhood. Some of our neighbours

appear to be vulnerable not only to acts of terror but also to destablising

political developments, the consequences of which affect India in one way

or another. Some obvious consequences are cross border terrorism,

covert support to insurgents, arms smuggling, fake Indian currency notes

(FICN), inflow of refugees, and immigration. We have to deal with each

one of them within the constraints of our obligations under international

law and domestic law and in consonance with our open and democratic

system.

5. While the people of India are the final judges, I am happy to report

that the internal security situation has vastly improved during the last two

years. This is due, in a large measure, to the cooperation that we have

received from the State Governments and the congruence in the views of

the Central Government and the State Governments. I thank you for

your understanding and support, and I look forward to your valuable

advice as well as your continued cooperation.

6. No country in the world appears to be entirely immune to the threat

of terror. In 2010, there were at least 35 incidents that could be

characterised as major terrorist attacks. In the first month of this year,

there have been at least 13 major acts of terror. Terrorist acts, or serious

attempts to commit such acts, have taken place in Pakistan, Afghanistan,

Russia, Philippines, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria and the United States. You

2
will notice that most terrorist incidents are in regions not far from our

borders. India, therefore, remains vulnerable to terrorism. In 2010,

there was one major incident in Pune on February 13, 2010. There was

another incident in Varanasi on December 7, 2010 that caused,

thankfully, little damage. In both cases, there was specific intelligence

that was shared with the State Government concerned. In the case of the

Pune attack, the State police authorities had issued an advisory to the

establishments in the area including the German Bakery that was

attacked. In my view, it would be unrealistic to expect that intelligence

can be any more specific than what was gathered and shared in the two

cases. The lessons that must be learnt are that vigilance is not an ‘on

and off’ matter; vigilance must be 24x7, especially when alerts are

issued; otherwise, despite the best of intentions of the police, there will

be lapses that will result in casualties.

7. I am sure you will agree with me that two incidents of terror in a

period of 26 months mark a significant improvement in the situation.

However, I must caution you that there is no let up in the attempts to

infiltrate into India from across the India-Pakistan border. Besides, there

are a number of modules operating within the country; and new groups

have raised their heads that are suspected to be behind some terrorist

attacks that took place in recent years. We cannot shy away from

naming these groups or exposing their designs. Whatever their religious

affiliations, I have no hesitation in condemning every group that resorts

3
to terror as a means of advancing dubious religious causes or

fundamentalist goals. Our policy in this regard is clear: every terrorist

and every terrorist group will be pursued and brought before the law and

punished. At the end of 2010, 47 major terrorist cases were under

investigation or trial; 11 new cases were entrusted to the National

Investigation Agency in 2010; and, last year, convictions were obtained in

one major case.

8. Left-wing extremism or naxalism remains a grave challenge.

Following the decisions of the Cabinet Committee on Security in October

2009, the Central government provided additional forces to the States

affected by naxalism. The State governments too recruited more

personnel, invested more in training, acquired better and more weapons,

and boldly engaged the naxalites, more particularly the CPI (Maoist).

Looking back at 2010, my assessment is that there is a kind of a

stalemate. The State governments concerned cannot claim any major

advance, nor should we conclude that the CPI (Maoist) has gained the

upper hand. There have been casualties on both sides. The CPI (Maoist)

remains a powerful and determined adversary and has added at least four

companies to the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA). Its goal

remains seizure of power through an “armed liberation struggle.” In

2010, they killed 718 civilians of which 323 were killed after branding

them as ‘police informers’. Unlike our security forces, the naxalite cadres

are not constrained by the rule of law or the rules of conflict: in areas

4
they dominate they act as judge, jury and executioner. I regret that no

representative of civil society has called for an inquiry into the brutal and

unlawful killing of civilians and other acts of depredation committed by

the CPI (Maoist).

9. There is no dilution in our two-pronged approach of development and

police action to contain the challenge of naxalism. I am of the firm view

that our two-pronged approach will succeed, but we must be resolute and

patient. Meanwhile, the Government’s offer of talks remains valid on

condition that the CPI (Maoist) abjured violence. I have invited the Chief

Ministers of LWE-affected States to a separate meeting later in the

evening and we shall review more closely the security situation in those

States.

10. The other challenge to security is the challenge posed by insurgent

groups, especially in the North Eastern States. It gives me great

satisfaction to report that there has been a dramatic change in the

situation in the North East. 2010 witnessed the lowest level of violence in

many years. Barring Assam and Manipur, the other States have shown

remarkable improvement. No civilian was killed in Nagaland or Mizoram.

No security personnel was killed in Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh,

Nagaland or Mizoram. Nine insurgent groups are in talks with the

Government or are poised to commence talks. The time has come to

change our perceptions of the insurgent groups. So long as they are

5
willing to talk and reach honourable and just settlements, we must treat

their leaders honourably and fairly; we must give their cadres an

opportunity to return to the mainstream of society and start new lives;

and we must prepare the people for reconciliation. We hope to be able to

conclude agreements with some of the groups in the near future, and I

seek your good wishes and support in this regard.

11. Jammu and Kashmir presents a unique challenge. The situation

was improving until the beginning of June, 2010. The three month period

of agitation was an unfortunate and deeply regrettable chapter. However,

after the visit of the all-party parliamentary delegation and the

appointment of Interlocutors, there has been a significant improvement.

We have worked hard for the peace that the State has enjoyed in the last

four months. The Interlocutors have been able to change the discourse.

We have tasked them to outline the contours of a political solution based

on the suggestions received by them. My earnest appeal is that nothing

should be said or done that will destroy the fragile peace or derail the

process of finding a political solution.

12. 2010 also had its share of local conflicts and disturbances but

nothing that threatened internal security. I must however draw attention

to the numerous rasta rokos and rail rokos that affect normal life and the

economy. It is estimated that the railways alone suffer a loss of revenue-

earning traffic of about Rs.1,500 crore per year. I would urge Chief

6
Ministers – as well as the political parties that we represent – to pay

attention to this growing problem. While there is a place for peaceful

protest in a democracy, let us spare our highways and railways.

13. Let me now give you a synopsis of the work done in 2010 and what

remains to be done. Just before we held the first Chief Ministers’

conference, there were 530,580 vacancies in the State police forces as on

1.1.2009. In two years, you have added 116,903 personnel to your

forces. This is a remarkable achievement, but it also highlights the

distance that remains to be covered. We filled a little over 45,000

vacancies in the CPMFs and massive recruitment is under way in the

CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP, SSB and Assam Rifles. Besides, 11,985 new

posts have been sanctioned to the NSG.

14. Huge amounts have been provided for procurement by the CPMFs.

The equipment that has been or is being procured include assault rifles,

carbines and pistols; BP jackets; mine-protected or bullet proof vehicles

and armoured troop carriers; motorcycles, rescue boats and attack crafts;

night vision equipment etc. You have used funds released under the

Modernisation of Police Force Scheme, Security Related Expenditure and

Special Infrastructure Scheme amounting to Rs.1,320 crore in 2009-10

and Rs.1,336 crore in 2010-11. Border fencing, border roads and

floodlighting works are in progress. More BoPs are being constructed on

the India-Bangladesh and India-Pakistan borders. Phase II of the Coastal

7
Security Scheme, at an estimated cost of Rs.1,580 crore, will begin on

April 1, 2011. This will help you set up more police stations, acquire more

boats, vehicles and other equipment, and construct more jetties. All

forensic science laboratories are being upgraded and strengthened. The

authorised strength of the IPS has been increased from 3889 (as on

1.1.2009) to 4,720 (as on 1.1.2011). Training capacity is being expanded

significantly. IB is setting up four more Regional Training Centres. Every

CPMF is augmenting training capacity and 20 CIAT Schools have been

sanctioned.

15. All this does not mean that I have no worries or that you have no

cause for worry. I worry about security at our airports, I worry about

coastal security, I worry about the slow pace of procurement, I worry

about the quality of training imparted to security personnel. My biggest

worry, however, is that we might slide into complacency and begin to

think that ‘God is in heaven, and all is well with the world.’ Pune and

Varanasi should jolt us out of complacency. Silda, Dantewada,

Narayanpur and the tragedy that struck the Gnaneshwari Express should

remind us of the nature of the adversary. And the evidence that the NIA

and CBI are discovering every day should serve as a wake-up call to the

new sources of terror that threaten our security.

16. I am afraid that we have not yet been able to get out of the

‘business as usual’ mode. I am sure many of you feel the same way as I

8
do. When policy decisions are deferred, when procurement is disrupted,

when delivery is delayed, I feel frustrated. But we cannot give up. We

must take bold and hard decisions, and we must take them now. The

best security lies in adding to capacity – human, material, intelligence and

systems. On behalf of the Central Government, I assure you of our full

support. On behalf of the people of India, I appeal to you to allocate

more resources, devote more time, and provide greater direction to the

security forces in your State. I am confident that, together, we can

prevail, we shall succeed, and we will make this country strong, safe and

secure.

17. May I now request the Hon’ble Prime Minister to inaugurate this

conference?

18. Thank you.