'Security situation in northeastern states improved in last 8 yrs'

NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that the security situation in northeastern states, Jammu and Kashmir and left-wing extremism areas has improved over the last eight years.

Addressing the gathering at the National Police Memorial on the occasion of ‘Police Commemoration Day, the Home Minister said police personnel have played an important role during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“There’s a positive change in the internal security of nation. Earlier, there were big incidents in the northeast, Kashmir and left-wing extremism-affected areas. Earlier, armed forces were given special power, now youth is given special powers for their progress and because of which there is a decline of violence in these areas by more than 70 per cent,” he said.

He further said that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is such that the youths who used to hurl stones at security personnel earlier have now become “panches” and “sarpanches”.

“In the states affected by left-wing extremism) the national anthem is being sung in Eklavya schools while the national flag flutters on these buildings,” he said.

“Youth earlier involved in throwing stones are now involved in various developmental projects introduced by the government. Under PM Modi’s vision, several measures have been undertaken to strengthen the internal security of country,” Shah added.

Shah said India is proceeding on the path of development due to the sacrifices made by the police and paramilitary personnel across the country.

Shah paid tributes to police personnel, who lost their lives in the line of duty, at the National Police Memorial in the national capital on the occasion of ‘Police Commemoration Day’.

‘Police Commemoration Day’ is observed every year in memory of ten valiant Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) killed during patrol duty in an ambush by heavily armed Chinese troops in Hot Springs, Ladakh on October 21, 1959.

To honour the police personnel who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty for national security, the idea of setting up a National Police Memorial in Delhi was approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1992.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the National Police Memorial to the nation on Police Commemoration Day on October 21, 2018. The Memorial gives Police Forces a sense of national identity, pride, unity of purpose, common history and destiny.

The Memorial includes a Central Sculpture, the Wall of Valour and an underground Museum. As one enters the site, the flower-laden ramparts with two large symmetrically placed bowls, laced with flowers, symbolize the everlasting spirit of Police martyrs and their dedication.

According to Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, a total of 307 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles (AR) personnel sacrificed their lives in the line of duty for the nation in the last five years.

Rai said this in a Rajya Sabha, mentioning 27 of the 307 personnel sacrificed their lives in 2021; 39 in 2020; 90 in 2019; 75 in 2018; and 76 in 2018.

Of the 307 troops, 180 were deployed in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), 49 in Border Security Force (BSF), 37 in Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), seven each in Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), and 27 in Assam Rifles.