Shah appeals for peace in Manipur, to 'visit soon'

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday appealed to the people of Manipur to maintain peace and promised that justice will be ensured to all sections of society.

Asserting that Narendra Modi will become the Prime Minister for the third consecutive term after the general elections next year, he claimed that the opposition Congress will not be able to even secure its present tally in the Lok Sabha.

Shah, while laying the foundation stone of the tenth campus of the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) at Changsari in Assam's Kamrup district, said he will travel to Manipur to help resolve disputes.

"I will go to Manipur soon and stay there for three days but before that, both groups should remove mistrust and suspicion among themselves and ensure that peace is restored in the state," he said.

"The Centre will ensure that justice is delivered to all those who suffered in the clashes in the state, but people must hold dialogue to ensure peace," Shah said.

During the last six years, prior to the recent clashes, there was no blockade or bandhs in Manipur and 'people must ensure the return of such a situation again'.

"Charcha ke saath hi shanti ho sakti hain (Peace can only be restored through dialogue)," he said.

"The Centre is planning to bring changes in the law to make it compulsory for forensic experts to visit the spot for crimes that attract more than six years of imprisonment," he said.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has plans to bring about changes in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the Evidence Act in the spirit of the Constitution to increase the conviction rate which will help in the delivery of criminal justice," he added.

Policing can be divided into three parts: law and order situation, crime investigation and ensuring justice by punishing the guilty, the home minister said.

"This is not the age of using third-degree measures or force on the accused but there are scientific ways of collecting evidence through psychology, fingerprints and DNA profiling and we need experts for these," he said.

The conviction rate in the country is low at 50 per cent and this is mainly due to lack of evidence or witnesses turning hostile which creates hurdles for the police in submitting chargesheets in the court, he added.

"We have decided to strengthen the forensic infrastructure, upgrade and modernise the laboratories, set up regional forensic laboratories and also district-level mobile forensic laboratories," Shah said.

This will require manpower and generate employment opportunities while research and development in this sector will be intensified and implemented at the grassroots level, he said.

The state-of-the-art institute, which will be built over a 50-acre campus, will provide training to the police, judiciary and forensic scientists of neighbouring countries.

Around 3,000 to 5,000 graduates and postgraduates from the institute will emerge in different branches of forensic science, wildlife forensics, cyber security, narcotics, digital forensics, drone forensics, forensic psychology and forensics justice and law, he said.

The first phase of the NFSU campus is expected to be completed by 2026 and the second by 2030 while classes will start this year at the temporary campus on the premises of the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).

Shah also launched an interactive web portal, the 'Seva Setu', of the Assam Police, developed jointly with the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL).

It will enable people to lodge FIRs, missing persons reports and complete verification of tenants, paying guests and domestic helps without having to visit the police station.

Later in the day, while addressing a public meeting here after ceremoniously distributing 44,703 appointment letters to successful candidates for Assam government jobs, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader alleged that the Congress has a 'negative attitude' and charged it with doing politics by boycotting the scheduled inauguration of the new Parliament building.

"Narendra Modi will become the PM again next year with over 300 seats. The Congress has lost the opposition party status and will not be able to even secure the number of seats it has presently in the Lok Sabha," he said.

"The Congress has a negative attitude. The PM will inaugurate the new Parliament building on May 28 but the Congress is doing politics by boycotting it, giving an excuse that the President should inaugurate it," he said.

He claimed that there have been instances in Congress and opposition-ruled states where foundation stones of new assembly buildings were laid by respective chief ministers and Congress leaders such as Sonia and Rahul Gandhi instead of the respective governors.

"The Congress does not allow the PM to speak inside the Parliament. Indian people have given Modi the mandate to speak. Not respecting the PM is like insulting the people's mandate," he said.

"I want to tell the other parties who are joining the Congress now that your condition will also be like the Congress if you continue to be with them," he added.

Shah said that the BJP had promised to provide one lakh government jobs in Assam before the 2021 assembly polls and within two-and-half-years, 86,000 jobs have been given and the rest will be given within the next six months.

He alleged that during the tenure of earlier governments, only the followers of the ruling party used to get jobs in the state.

"The BJP has brought in a transparent system, in which even the poor people's sons and daughters are getting jobs on the basis of their merit and talent. There is no favouritism or nepotism now," he added.