Big drop in terror-related incidents in J&K since Article 370 abrogation: Shah

Union home minister Amit Shah said Tuesday that the abrogation of Article 370 has helped to put a check on the terror attacks and terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir, and the government has managed to bring down the incidents of terror activities in the northeast and left-wing extremism.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the home ministry has succeeded to launch a crackdown on the internal security threats, especially dealing with the terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, Northeast and left-wing extremism, which had become a major challenge for the country for several decades, he said addressing a gathering after presenting President’s Colour to Haryana Police at state police academy here.

Peace in Jammu and Kashmir

“We have succeeded in cracking down on terrorism as there is considerable fall in the terror-related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir since the (PM) Modi government abrogated Article 370, and now youths, who were misled earlier, are joining the mainstream”, he said.

Remembering the valorous heroes, who had lost on this day in Pulwama in 2019, the home minister said that sacrifice of Pulwama martyrs will be remembered always and their names will be written in the golden letters in India’s history.

Shah said, “It’s very satisfactory to say that now tourists from across the country visit Jammu and Kashmir, and we can say that we have managed to create an atmosphere of peace and harmony.”

60% decline in left-wing extremism

The home minister said that the government has also succeeded in checking the left-wing extremism in the Northeast, and there was around a 60% decline in terror activities since the Modi government took over. Now, the number of the affected districts of left-wing extremism has come down to 46 from 96. As several agreements were signed and around 8,000 youths, who were associated with the different insurgency groups, surrendered and returned to the mainstream and this has brought peace to the Northeast.

“This indicates that in a very short time, the country will completely get rid of leftist extremism”, he said.

Zero tolerance for narcotics

He said that the home ministry adopted a policy of zero tolerance on narcotics, and it has taken a pledge to achieve the Prime Minister’s commitment to Nasha-Mukt-Bharat. “We have already made several achievements in this direction, and in future, we are going to launch an attack on narcotics with the help of different agencies and forensic experts”, he added.

“Now, we are going to bring a change in the CrPC, IPC and Evidence Act under which forensic experts visit will be made compulsory in crimes with a sentence of six years and above, and it will be a big step to increase the conviction rate and will prove a big blow to the narcotics.

Haryana police are Dhakad police

Haryana police are already known as the Dhakad police, and now the President’s Colour will further boost its morale. He said that Haryana has now become the 10th state of the country to get this honour after Uttar Pradesh Police, Delhi Police, Maharashtra Police, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Tamil Nadu Police, Tripura Police, Gujarat Police, Himachal Pradesh Police and Assam Police.

“I am very happy, that I have got this opportunity to honour the Haryana police with the President’s colour”, he added.

Shah hailed the working of the Haryana police and paid tribute to the police martyrs.

The home minister also praised the Dial 112 helpline of Haryana police saying that 600 emergency response vehicles have been deputed and the 112 helpline is a big achievement of the state police. “Since its launch in July 2021, the 112 helpline number has responded to over 86 lakh calls and it’s a big achievement as the average response time has come down to 8.22 minutes from 11.36 minutes and secured second position in the country”, he added. He also praised the chief minister’s flying squad has conducted 1,303 raids under its anti-corruption agenda as a big contribution to achieving the corruption-free Haryana target.

He said that it’s a big achievement of Haryana police to get this award as now it has a strength of 75,000 cops and the state has set up 29 cyber police stations and 309 cyber desks helping to check cybercrimes. He said that Haryana has also secured first position in the country for the best implementation of the Inter-operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS).

Later, the home minister also inaugurated the Export House at Agro Mall in Karnal and virtually laid the foundation stone of ethanol plant with a capacity of 90KLPD per day at Panipat Cooperative Sugar mills.

He said that efforts were being made to upgrade dairy farming and help small farmers to generate additional income. He said that the export hub in the agro mall will give a platform to people to buy all Hafed and Vita products at one place. It will also house offices and establishments involved in rice business and export of foodgrains.

He also inaugurated Sanjhi Dairy Scheme under which landless dairy farmers will get fodder, vaccine and medical facilities. He also launched Internet Radio- Sahakarita Vani to help farmers and cooperative organisations to get important scientific information regarding agriculture, animal breeding and FPO.

Talking about Haryana making education mandatory for those contesting panchayat elections, Shah said, “It was a tough decision and being the party president at that time, I was concerned that this decision could prove costly for the party, but Manohar Ji has strongly implemented this decision and now Haryana is the only state of the country with educated panchayats.”

“It is a matter of great pride for Haryana as every 10 soldiers of the Indian Army belong to Haryana. Even farmers have also played important role to increase agriculture production while Haryana’s pehalwan (wrestlers ) are also at the top,” he added.

He also held a meeting of party workers from Karnal Lok Sabha constituency in Karnal.

Addressing BJP workers, Shah asked them to work hard on the ground to ensure BJP’s victory at all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2024.