The Hindu : National : Law to tackle communal violence soon: Patil

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Thursday, Nov 04, 2004

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National

Law to tackle communal violence soon: Patil

By Vinay Kumar

NEW DELHI, NOV. 3. The Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, said today that a model law to tackle all aspects of communal violence in the country would soon be put in place.

The comprehensive law would be drafted based on past experiences. The proposed Bill would be put up for discussion among various groups, committees and MPs and inputs from State police and intelligence agencies would also be taken, he said.

"The UPA Government is determined to bring in a model, comprehensive law to tackle the menace of communal violence," he said while inaugurating the 39th annual conference of Directors-General of Police organised by the Intelligence Bureau here. Though the communal situation in the country had been peaceful for the past one year, a law was needed to act as a deterrent.

Mr. Patil's message to the top police officials was: "Let us act and not react. If you act, results will be better. Anticipate an event and be prepared to face it. You have to manage the contradiction of acting with determination but with compassion only then long term results will be better."

Reiterates offer

Ahead of his proposed visit to Jammu and Kashmir from November 6, the Minister said the Government continued to hold out the offer for unconditional dialogue with the separatists in the State. "As the situation improves, secessionist leaders would find it easier to participate in the dialogue, thereby making it more broad-based," he said.

Describing Left-wing extremism, which had spread to about 125 districts in 12 States and was threatening to affect 24 more districts, as the major challenge to internal security, Mr. Patil said there had been "considerable consolidation" of the movement in many parts of the country. "There are efforts to start similar activity even in Punjab and Haryana and in some States of the North-East," he said.

Referring to the Andhra Pradesh Government's efforts to enter into dialogue with People's War, he said that while the State had held out certain concessions such as suspension of anti-naxalite operations there was an apprehension that the naxalites would use the opportunity not only to consolidate but also to seize the initiative politically. The State Government must be given a reasonable opportunity for the political peace initiative to continue that could ultimately lead to a positive outcome.

Strategy in North-East

On the counter-insurgency strategy for the North-East, he favoured a holistic approach that would take into account the mosaic of cultures, competing demands of different sections, economic underdevelopment and the perceived sense of remoteness of the region.

The Minister said the Multi Agency Centre and the Joint Task Force on Intelligence, both under the umbrella of the Intelligence Bureau, had become fully functional. The Centre and the Task Force were set up after the GoM recommendations in the wake of the Kargil Committee Report.

Earlier, the IB director, Ajit Kumar Doval, dubbed the internal security scenario "complex" but cited some positive trends such as low level of violence in the past year in Jammu and Kashmir, very few violent incidents during the recent Lok Sabha polls and efforts at conflict-resolution in Manipur.

While militancy in Jammu and Kashmir remained a cause for concern, Mr. Doval said that nearly three lakh tourists visited the State in April-May. Several top leaders of outfits such as the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and the Lashkar-e-Taiba had been eliminated and 168 militants were killed during the past year.

Left-wing extremism, he said, had assumed "serious proportions" and was threatening to suck newer areas into its vortex in about a dozen States.

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