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Chidambaram proposes radical restructuring of security architecture | Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday proposed a radical restructuring of the security architecture at the national level. He unveiled the proposal while
delivering the 22nd Intelligence Bureau Centenary Endowment Lecture here today.
The topic of the lecture was "A New Architecture of India's Security". As part
of the plan, the Home Minister suggested the setting up of a National Counter
Terrorism Centre (NCTC) by the end of 2010 and once set up, NCTC must have the
broad mandate to deal with all kinds of terrorist violence, directed against the
country and its people. Chidambaram suggested the restructuring of the Ministry
of Home Affairs and said that the Home Minister should devote the whole of is
time and energy to matters relating to security. Chidambaram pointed out that
in the Home Ministry there are desks that deal with Centre-State Relations, State
Legislations, Human Rights, Union Territories, Disaster Management, Census etc.
'These are undoubtedly important functions and deserve close attention. However,
internal security is an equally, if not more, important function that deserves
the highest attention." He said that imperatives and the challenges of the times
made a division of the current functions of the Ministry of Home Affairs unavoidable.
Chidambaram suggested that subjects not directly related to internal security
should be dealt with by a separate Ministry or should be brought under a separate
department in the Ministry of Home Affairs and dealt with by a Minister, more
or less independently, without referring every issue to the Home Minister. "The
Home Minister should devote the whole of his/her time and energy to matters related
to security," he added. Chidambaram recalled that two days after the terrorist
attack in Mumbai was repulsed, after paying a heavy price of 164 lives, the nation
was in shock and anger. A billion plus people felt they had been humiliated and
the country had been brought to its knees by a small band of terrorists. The security
establishment was in disarray and numerous questions were being asked. Commenting
on the state of police, Chidambaram said all the States and Union Territories
put together had a sanctioned strength of 1,746,215 policemen as on January 1,
2008. Against that number, only 1,478,888 policemen were in place. There are 13,057
police stations and 7,535 police posts in the country. The ratio of available
police to per 100,000 people for the whole country is about 130. The international
average is about 270. There is no substitute for the policeman who walks the streets.
Commenting on the difficult task ahead, Chidambaram said they could be done by
providing more funds, tightening the administration and working to a time-bound
plan. Chidambaram set out the tasks for the proposed National Counter Terrorism
Centre (NCTC). It should prevent a terrorist attack, and contain a terrorist attack
if it takes place, and respond to a terrorist attack by inflicting pain upon the
perpetrators. Such an organisation does not exist today. It has to be created
from scratch. "I am told that the United States was able to do it within 36 months
of September 11, 2001. India cannot afford to wait for 36 months. India must decide
now to go forward and India must succeed in setting up the NCTC by the end of
2010," he added. He wanted the NCTC to be under a police or a military officer
who has the capacity to oversee intelligence , investigation and operations. He
would be the single person accountable to the country on all matters relating
to internal security. To be accountable to parliament, "it would be logical to
place the NCTC under the Ministry of Home Affairs", Mr Chidambaram said. The Endowment
lecture was attended by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mr. Palaniappan,
the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, Mr Rajiv Mathur, and serving and retired
intelligence personnel of the country. |
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