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Pilot attacks Centre's claim on law-and-order

Congress and Biju Janata Dal members of the Lok Sabha today staged a walkout demanding that the Centre announce specific measures to control militancy in the North-East and Jammu & Kashmir.

The members were dissatisfied with Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani's reply to a calling-attention motion moved by Congress politician Rajesh Pilot about the deteriorating state of security within the country, especially in the context of the recent killings in the North-East and Kashmir.

The home minister's remark that the government is vigilant agitated the members. The BJD members wanted to draw his attention to the deteriorating law-and-order situation in Orissa.

Pilot said the home minister might be satisfied with the figures collected by his department, but the people's perception is different.

Before leaving the house, the Congress Working Committee member said Advani should have announced specific measures, including modernisation of the police forces in the terrorism-affected regions.

Replying to the questions raised by members, Advani said the overall security situation in the country has not worsened. But he admitted that the Pakistan-guided insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, the subversive activities of militant groups in the North-East, and the violence perpetrated by left-wing extremist groups remain areas of concern.

He conceded that the situation in Assam had worsened, but in Jammu and Kashmir, for the first time in 10 years, a large number of tourists had visited the valley.

According to Advani, the government has adopted a "pro-active" policy to deal with the militants.

Agreeing with Pilot's suggestion to send an all-party parliamentary delegation to the militant-infested areas, Advani said this would give the government guidance in dealing with the problems of those areas.

Pilot pointed out that neighbouring countries -- Nepal and Bangladesh -- have become entry points for militants. Through these countries, RDX and other munitions are being transported to India, he said.

Cautioning the government, he said 178 terrorist-training camps are still operating in Pakistan. A large number of youths in the valley and other areas are missing and might be getting trained in these camps.

He also challenged the government's figures and said more than 4,200 persons were killed in 1996-98 in Assam alone.

Earlier, in his statement, Advani said positive signs are discernible in Jammu and Kashmir. The number of foreign mercenaries killed has gone up from 197 in 1997 to 289 up to November 1998. There has also been a large number of arrests and recovery of weapons and explosives.

He said an action plan involving measures to curb cross-border infiltration, counter-militancy in the hinterland, protection of minorities, enhanced intelligence, greater functional integration and co-ordination amongst security forces, greater interaction with the border population, and technological upgradation of security forces has been launched to tackle militancy.

These efforts are co-ordinated and overseen by the two unified headquarters at Jammu and Srinagar headed by Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, and periodic reviews are carried out at the state as well as central levels.

Advani said the total number of persons killed in insurgent violence in the North-East has shown a decline this year, from 1,655 in 1997 to 1,262 in 1998 (up to December 2). Four states in the region are affected by insurgency. These are Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura. Though there has been an increase in incidents of violence in Assam and Tripura, the situation in Manipur and Nagaland shows signs of improvement, he said.

Advani said left-wing extremism continues to remain a disruptive force, especially in parts of Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. But left-wing violence has shown a downtrend in terms of number of incidents.

The activities of the Sikh extremists in Punjab and neighbouring states remain at an ebb, he said, adding that the communal situation in the country is also under control. The number of deaths in communal violence in the country this year has been the lowest in the last ten years.

UNI

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