Rahul9090
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NEW DELHI: The security establishment at the UnionHome Ministryis keenly watching if theNarendra Modiled governmentwill bite the bullet on using the armed forces in its fight against the Naxals as proposed to the Cabinet by the Home Ministry under the tenure ofP Chidambaramin 2012. The move was thwarted by theDefence Ministrythen.
ET has accessed a note put before theCabinet Committee on Securityby the Home Ministry in 2012 which had proposed usingIndian Air Forcegunships to strike against the Naxals if there was clear and specific intelligence of their presence in an area. It was proposed that in case there was specific intelligence that there was a "large congregation of armed military platoons" of Naxals in a particular area, IAF gunships could be used to attack them from air.
It was also proposed in that note by the Home Ministry that Rashtriya Rif les of theIndian Armyshould be posted in Naxaldominated areas in "non-combat roles" to fill up the huge gaps in security presence there. The note had mentioned that there were still large areas in Naxaldominated parts where there was no security presence and it would take 3-4 years for the paramilitary forces like CRPF and BSF to increase their manpower to have their footprints there.
It was suggested then by the Home Ministry that Rashtriya Rifles should be deployed in such areas to provide cover for development activities but not in combat roles. The RR, however, was planned to be mandated to fire back in self defence if attacked by the extremists. However, the Defence Ministry then did not agree with the Home Ministry's proposals and UPA could not make much headway.
A senior Home Ministry official told ET on Tuesday that it would be "interesting" to see the new government's approach towards this issue as the BJP, and its top leaders including Narendra Modi andRajnath Singh, have taken a tough stand against the Naxals.
"A major Naxal attack could test the temperament of the new BJP government... it remains to be seen if a recourse to the armed forces is taken to take the fight to the Naxals, especially since there was an earlier proposal on the table to do this but got lost in the indecisiveness of theUPA government," the official said
.
"There is a case for the air support to go beyond support role," a ministry official said. Also, lately, the UAVs employed by the National Technical Research Organisation in Naxal areas have provided good pin-pointed intelligence on the presence of Naxals in remote areas.
Securitymen await BJP government’s decision on using armed forces against Naxals - The Economic Times
ET has accessed a note put before theCabinet Committee on Securityby the Home Ministry in 2012 which had proposed usingIndian Air Forcegunships to strike against the Naxals if there was clear and specific intelligence of their presence in an area. It was proposed that in case there was specific intelligence that there was a "large congregation of armed military platoons" of Naxals in a particular area, IAF gunships could be used to attack them from air.
It was suggested then by the Home Ministry that Rashtriya Rifles should be deployed in such areas to provide cover for development activities but not in combat roles. The RR, however, was planned to be mandated to fire back in self defence if attacked by the extremists. However, the Defence Ministry then did not agree with the Home Ministry's proposals and UPA could not make much headway.
A senior Home Ministry official told ET on Tuesday that it would be "interesting" to see the new government's approach towards this issue as the BJP, and its top leaders including Narendra Modi andRajnath Singh, have taken a tough stand against the Naxals.
"A major Naxal attack could test the temperament of the new BJP government... it remains to be seen if a recourse to the armed forces is taken to take the fight to the Naxals, especially since there was an earlier proposal on the table to do this but got lost in the indecisiveness of theUPA government," the official said
.
"There is a case for the air support to go beyond support role," a ministry official said. Also, lately, the UAVs employed by the National Technical Research Organisation in Naxal areas have provided good pin-pointed intelligence on the presence of Naxals in remote areas.
Securitymen await BJP government’s decision on using armed forces against Naxals - The Economic Times