“Army Is Doing Its Job”: Rajnath on Kashmir ‘Human Shield’ Issue

Singh also said the Narendra Modi government has achieved success in Maoist-affected states in its tenure. File image of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. (Photo: Reuters)

Vowing to uproot Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, Home Minister Rajnath Singh today asserted that the NDA government is working towards a permanent solution to the seven-decade-old Kashmir issue, though it may take some time.

Speaking on the unrest in the Valley, Singh said the Centre is open to talks and will take the people of the state and political parties into confidence for resolving the Kashmir issue.

We don’t want to see stones in the hands of Kashmiri youths. We want to remove any stone which can impede their path to a brighter future.

Asked whether he supports an army Major who recently used a local youth as "human shield" in Kashmir, the Home Minister said "the army is doing its job".

“Violence in Kashmir Will Not Last Long”

When Rajnath Singh was reminded that that Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu had supported Major Leetul Gogoi, who had tied a man to a jeep as a shield against stone-pelting. In reply, Singh said “whatever Naidu had said was correct.” Naidu had said Major Gogoi saved lives under "exceptional circumstances" and the Army has appreciated it.

Blaming Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, he stressed that the violence will not last long in the Valley,

There were bad situations in the past too. We will control it and bring back normalcy. There is no doubt, no confusion that Pakistani is fomenting terror in Kashmir. But we will ensure that terrorism is uprooted from Kashmir soon. The violence will not last long.

He also said that the government was working on a permanent solution to the Kashmir issue.

We are working for a permanent solution. I have said this with utmost responsibility, after much thinking and deliberations. We have some plans and are working in this direction and will find a solid solution in future. It may take some time.

Narendra Modi Government Has Achieved Success in Maoist-Affected States

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said the Narendra Modi government has achieved great success in the Maoist-affected states in its three years tenure. He said the government’s efforts have resulted in 25 percent decline in incidents, 65 percent rise in elimination of ultras and a 185 percent rise in surrenders.

Noting that the government is fully determined to tackle the LWE (Left-Wing Extremism) danger for which in January 2015 it had launched national policy and action plan to tackle the menace, he said that as "a result, there has been a decline of 25 percent in LWE related incidents of violence.”

Casualties to security forces dropped by as much as 42 percent during the period from May 2014 to April 2017 as compared to May 2011 to April 2014.

Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister

Singh said that security forces have achieved great success in the elimination and surrender of insurgents as per the figures. He said:

This is our big achievement and I believe the security agencies will achieve success after assimilating new operation technique SAMADHAN to fight LWE.

During a review meeting of affected states on 8 May, he had given the SAMADHAN technique, an acronym for smart leadership, aggressive strategy, motivation and training, actionable intelligence, dashboard-based key performance indicators and key result areas, harnessing technology, action plan for each theatre and no access to financing.

The Minister said the aid amount for the affected states has been raised from Rs 575 crore to Rs 675 crore, construction of 45 police stations in the affected areas has been expedited while 307 new police stations have been set up in the past three years.

Bastaria Battalion has been raised in Chhattisgarh to fight the left wing rebels in which 242 women and 743 scheduled tribe candidates have been recruited. Besides, the government has extended its skill development scheme to 13 new districts in 2016 to provide employment to the youth residing there.