Blast reminder that there can be no let-up in vigilance: PM

New Delhi, Sep 10 (PTI) Terming terrorism and Maoist
violence as two major challenges facing the country, Indian
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said the Delhi High
Court blastwas a stark reminder that there can be no let up in
the vigil.
Singh said everyone must unequivocally send out a
message that pursuit of violence cannot be justified under
any circumstances and reaffirm the collective resolve to fight
the menace of terrorism in all its forms with available means.
"The problems of terrorism and Left-wing extremism
constitute two major challenges that our society and polity
face today. The terrorist attack in Delhi last Wednesday is a
stark reminder to us that there can be no let up in our
vigilance," he said addressing the National Integration
Council (NIC) meeting here.
The meeting was attended by senior Union Ministers,
Chief Ministers, Leaders of Opposition in Parliament, leaders
of national and regional political parties among others.
"Time and again our nation has been subjected to
terrorist violence. Terrorist seek to justify such violence
based on misplaced sense of ideology," he noted.
The Prime Minister said no civilised society can
tolerate or endorse loss of innocent lives in the pursuit of
any ideology and institutions and instruments of the country's
democratic polity allow sufficient opportunity for
articulating differing view without resorting to violence.
Singh stressed on the need to identify and address the
causes of radicalisation of some of the country's youth.
"Very clearly, lack of productive employment
opportunities for our young men and women is one factor which
aids such radicalisation. Education and skill development
opportunities have a major role to play in addressing this
problem," he said.
Referring to steps being taken to strengthen security
agencies, Singh said there was a need to continuously upgrade
and strengthen investigating agencies and the intelligence
gathering apparatus to deal more effectively with the newer
methods and technologies that the terrorists and Naxals adopt.
Noting that government has tried hard to strengthen the
country's security apparatus, he said, "The intelligence
sharing mechanism under the Multi-Agency Centre has been
bolstered and the National Intelligence Grid is being
implemented so that intelligence from various sources can be
accessed and analysed to identify actionable points".
The Prime Minister said the problem of Naxalism has a
development dimension also and the Centre is making special
efforts for development of backward areas, many of which are
affected by Left-wing extremism.
"The Central and state governments have to work together
to confront the challenges to our internal security and we
will strive hard for greater coordination not only between the
Centre and states but also between states," he said.
Referring to civil disturbances, which is one of the
agenda items of Saturday's meeting, Singh said one should keep
in
mind that excessive use of force often proves counter-
productive.
"We need to distinguish between criminal activities and
misguided discontent that finds unlawful expression. It is
with this intent that the Home Ministry has circulated
instructions for dealing with crowds in a non-lethal manner,"
he said.
He urged the chief ministers to ensure that these are
made operational by appropriately equipping and training the
police forces.