As the Centre pointed to increased infiltration attempts from Pakistan and pledged to overcome threats ?at all costs? through coordinated efforts with states, Union home minister P Chidambaram and his ministry came in for praise on Sunday from BJP leader and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for the ?swift and positive? response to requests from states.
A day after he went hammer and tongs against the Centre over the issue of price rise, Modi also praised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying Opposition-ruled states did not face discrimination in matters of internal security under his government.
?Response of the home minister and home secretary is swift and positive whenever there is a demand from a state,? Modi told reporters. He also applauded the home ministry?s ?coordinating role? on internal security matters.
Modi asked the Centre to give its assent to the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime (GUJCOC) Bill ?which has been passed by the state Assembly no less than four times?. He wondered how the Centre could refuse to give its assent to the Bill ?when it was a replica of the anti-terror Act in place in Congress-ruled states like Maharashtra?
Referring to the Mumbai attacks, Modi said ?the time was ripe to build institutional mechanisms so as not to be dependent on external forces for bringing perpetrators of crime to book?. He said to be successful in this objective, it was important that the country be strong and ?perceived to be strong? by subversive elements within and outside India.
The sentiments expressed by Modi were, by and large, echoed by other BJP chief ministers. Both Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa praised the Centre for taking ?prompt measures? on internal security?both referred to the third such meeting on internal security.
In his speech, Chouhan said vacancies in the police were being filled promptly. Chouhan too called for a ?strong state? which could take action against ?terrorists like Afzal and Kasab?. Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh expressed ?satisfaction? over the Centre-state cooperation in fighting Naxalites in the state.
Earlier, inaugurating the conference, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said: ?Hostile groups and elements operate from across the border to perpetrate terrorist acts in the country. The state of Jammu and Kashmir bears the brunt of the acts of these groups.?
He said while there had been decline in the number of terrorist incidents from 2008 to 2009, ?infiltration levels have shown an increase in the same period.? He referred to his recent meetings with the chief secretaries where he had called for coordinated efforts between the Centre and the states to face the threats.
Chidambaram referred to the February 4 meeting of terror groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba and Hizbul Mujahideen in Muzaffarabad in PoK and called these groups ?dark forces? which were ?implacably? opposed to the country. He said they would be defeated whenever confronted.