PM says "virus" of communal violence should be checked in time

New Delhi, Nov 23 (PTI) Voicing concern over the "new danger" posed by the spread of fundamentalist and extremist ideas, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday said the "virus" of communal violence should be checked in time.

"....we need to guard against the new danger posed by
the spread of fundamentalist and extremist ideas. We have, of
late, been witnessing the emergence of such pernicious
tendencies and trends, and there are elements in our society
who are actively pursing such programmes," Singh said.

The Prime Minister was addressing the annual
conference of Directors and Inspectors General of Police here
on the concluding day of two-day meet.
Singh also suggested setting up of a task force to
initiate a 100-day plan to address "emerging challenges" in
the areas of terrorism, naxalism and insurgency.

Describing communal violence as a virus that threatens
the secular fabric of the country, he said it needed to be
checked in time, "otherwise our multi-religious, multi-ethnic
and multi-caste society could well unravel."

Noting that the police have a critical role to play, he
said "whatever the circumstances, the police must not remain
passive spectators when deliberate efforts are made by
communal elements and others to disturb the peace".

While asking the police to create an image as "a fair
and impartial entity", he said a major challenge before them
will be to restore the faith of the people - especially those
belonging to religious and ethnic minorities and weaker
sections - in their impartiality and effectiveness.

"Today, aspersions are being made regarding police
impartiality and capabilities.... This is so even when
policemen die in the line of duty," he said in an apparent
reference to the recent Batla House encounter here.

With the "globalisation" of terror, the Prime Minister
cautioned that the scale of terrorist incidents could only
grow in the future.

The Prime Minister said in the realm of security,
globalisation has produced a whole new range of interactive
threats and risks. "Globalisation has also led to a blurring
of the distinction between external and internal threats," he
said.

While noting that "time is not on our side", Singh said
the country cannot afford a repetition of the kind of
terrorist attacks that have recently taken place in Delhi,
Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat, Guwahati and
some other urban centres.

He said every time a terrorist attack took place there
was a public outcry over the failure of the government,
accompanied by criticism of police and intelligence agencies.

"I am aware that many terrorist attacks have been
prevented, thanks to the vigil of the police and
intelligence agencies, but a single incident of reasonable
magnitude causes repercussions, and calls into question the
capability and the capacity of the Government and its various
agencies," he said.

Observing that the globalisation of terror has made
terrorism an all encompassing danger, the Prime Minister said
"we should anticipate that the scale of such terrorist
incidents would only grow in the future and this would then
become a major test of our capabilities. You must therefore be
prepared for such an eventuality".

Referring to "some misgivings" that exist as to whether
the police is adequately geared to deal with today's complex
security problems, he said the contours of internal security
have changed fundamentally over the years, and the basic
character of threats has become greatly enlarged and also more
complicated.