Militants may disrupt Lok Sabha, Assembly elections: PM(Manmohan) New Delhi, Nov 23: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Saturday warned that militant groups may try to disrupt the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls and asked security forces to remain vigilant to thwart all such attempts. He called for a heightened vigil on the International Border and LoC in view of increase in ceasefire violations from across the border. “There is a likelihood of attempts to disrupt the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The security forces need to be careful,” the Prime Minister said while addressing a conference of DGPs and IGPs here. On situation prevailing on IB and LoC, Dr Singh said that Jammu & Kashmir has witnessed a few brazen attacks on security forces. “The situation along the IB and LoC particularly in Poonch district of Jammu region has remained volatile with several ceasefire violations. Resurgence of terrorist groups, particularly Lashkar-e-Taiba and increased infiltration attempts suggest that the security be tightened and better coordination ensured among the security forces,” he said. Referring to the recent communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining districts in Uttar Pradesh which claimed many lives and displaced thousands, Dr Singh said law and order agencies must ensure that trivial or local issues are not exploited by vested interests to inflame communal passions. “During the current year some states have witnessed a substantial increase in the number of communal incidents. We cannot afford such a state of affairs... Once disturbances occur they must be tackled with utmost firmness, without prejudice, fear or favour,” he said. The Prime Minister said top police officials in a State have the responsibility to ensure that their police force acts in the required manner in preventing communal actions. Expressing concern over misuse of social media for fanning tension in the society, Dr Singh said the country has witnessed misuse of social media and mobile text messages during the recent disturbances, including Muzaffarnagar. “There is a need to find creative solutions which do not curb the freedom of expression and the ease of communication that social media provides,” he said. Dr Singh said that recent four major incidents of militancy have confirmed the doubts that Indian hinterland remains an active area of operation for the militant outfits. “We need to ensure that our security apparatus and intelligence sharing platforms such as the Multi Agency Centre constantly hone their skills to stay ahead of the nefarious designs of these terrorist outfits. However, while dealing with terror cases, care needs to be taken that security forces remain scrupulously bipartisan so that our people do not lose faith in the professionalism of investigative agencies and the secular nature of our polity,” the PM observed
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 13:09:56 +0000