Soumitra
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Securitymen await BJP government’s decision on using armed forces against Naxals
NEW DELHI: The security establishment at the Union Home Ministry is keenly watching if the Narendra Modiled government will 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 of P Chidambaram in 2012. The move was thwarted by the Defence Ministry then.
ET has accessed a note put before the Cabinet Committee on Security by the Home Ministry in 2012 which had proposed using Indian Air Force gunships 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 Rifles of the Indian Army should be posted in Naxal dominated 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 Naxal dominated 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 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 and Rajnath 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 the UPA 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
NEW DELHI: The security establishment at the Union Home Ministry is keenly watching if the Narendra Modiled government will 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 of P Chidambaram in 2012. The move was thwarted by the Defence Ministry then.
ET has accessed a note put before the Cabinet Committee on Security by the Home Ministry in 2012 which had proposed using Indian Air Force gunships 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 Rifles of the Indian Army should be posted in Naxal dominated 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 Naxal dominated 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 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 and Rajnath 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 the UPA 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
