PM arrives in Raipur to attend All India Conference of DGPs and IGPs
Raipur: Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that the three hotspots that had become a “festering wound” for India — Naxalism, the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir — have been given “permanent solutions” by the Narendra Modi government and these regions will soon become like the rest of the country.
In his inaugural address at the three-day DGP/IGP annual conference here, Shah said a 360-degree attack has to be launched against narcotics and organised crime, and such a system has to be built that drug traffickers and criminals do not get “even an inch of space” in the country.
He said the time has come for state police forces to work together with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), strike hard at narcotics gangs operating at the state, national and international levels, and put their masterminds behind bars.
The home minister said after the Union government banned the Popular Front of India (PFI), nationwide raids were conducted on the organisation’s hideouts and arrests made, setting an outstanding example of Centre-state coordination.
He said the Centre has strengthened the security grid in the last seven years by constructing 586 fortified police stations.
As a result, the number of Naxal-affected districts in the country has come down from 126 in 2014 to just 11 today, he added.
Shah expressed confidence that the country will be completely free from the menace of Naxalism before the next conference of directors general of police (DGPs) and inspectors general of police (IGPs).
Besides Shah, the 60th edition of the closed-door, off-camera huddle of police chiefs from across the country at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur will also see the participation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and the heads of central police organisations, including Intelligence Bureau chief Tapan Kumar Deka.
The important meeting comes within weeks of agencies busting a “white-collar” terror module that was behind a car blast near Delhi’s Red Fort that claimed 15 lives on November 10.
The conference, which will conclude on November 30 with Modi’s address, aims to review the progress made in addressing key policing challenges so far and outline a forward-looking roadmap for building a “Surakshit Bharat”, in alignment with the national vision of “Viksit Bharat”, according to an official statement.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Friday to attend the 60th edition of All India Conference of Director Generals/Inspector Generals of Police.
The three-day conference, which commenced earlier in the day, is being held at the Indian Institute of Management, Raipur.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who landed at Swami Vivekananda Airport Raipur at around 7.40 pm in a special aircraft, will participate in the conference on November 29 and 30, officials said.
He was welcomed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Governor Ramen Deka, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and other public representatives and officials at the airport. Shah had arrived a day earlier to take part in the conference.
Chhattisgarh is hosting this conference for the first time, and security has been beefed up in Nava Raipur and surrounding areas, officials added. More than 2000 security personnel are involved in the multi-layered security arrangement for the conference.
The Conference aims to review the progress achieved in addressing key policing challenges so far and to outline a forward-looking roadmap for building a ‘Surakshit Bharat’ in alignment with the national vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’, an official release said.
“Held under the overarching theme ‘Viksit Bharat: Security Dimensions’, the Conference will host detailed deliberations on key security issues such as Left Wing Extremism, counter terrorism, disaster management, women’s safety, and use of forensic science and artificial intelligence in policing. The PM will also confer the President’s Police Medals for Distinguished Service,” it said.
The Conference provides a vital interactive platform for senior police leaders and security administrators from across the country to engage in open and meaningful exchanges on a wide range of national security issues, the release said.
“It also facilitates the discussion of operational, infrastructural, and welfare-related challenges faced by the police forces, along with the formulation and sharing of professional practices in addressing crime, maintaining law and order, and responding to internal security threats. The PM has consistently taken a keen interest in this annual Conference, encouraging candid discussions and fostering an environment where fresh ideas on policing can emerge,” the release added.
Business sessions, break-out interactions and thematic dining table discussions offer participants an opportunity to share their perspectives directly with the Prime Minister on critical internal security and policy matters, it added.
“Since 2014, the format of the Conference has undergone continuous upgradation under the PM’s guidance, including hosting it at diverse locations across the country. It has been held in Guwahati (Assam), Rann of Kutch (Gujarat), Hyderabad (Telangana), Tekanpur (Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh), Statue of Unity (Kevadiya, Gujarat), Pune (Maharashtra), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), New Delhi and Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Bhubaneswar (Odisha),” it said.
The conference will be attended by Union Home Minister, National Security Adviser, Ministers of State (Home Affairs), DGPs of States/UTs and Heads of Central Police Organisations.
“To bring in fresh and innovative ideas on the table, Heads of the Home Department of States/UTs and some selected cutting edge level police officers in the ranks of DIG and SP will also participate in the Conference physically this year,” the release said.
