Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday, 19 March, said that in a few years' time, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) might no longer be needed in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast.
Speaking at the 83rd CRPF Raising Day parade at the Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu, Shah said, "The resolve with which CRPF has been working in Kashmir, Naxal areas and the northeast, I'm confident that within the next few years, in all three regions, we may not require the use of CRPF and maintain complete peace in three regions. I'm confident. And if it happens, the whole credit goes to CRPF."
He praised the services of those CRPF personnel who have earned awards by fighting for peace and unity in the country.
"Whenever the CRPF is called in to handle a difficult situation, people heave a sigh of relief knowing fully well that things would immediately be brought under control," Shah said.
"As the country's home minister, I thank the jawans of the CRPF for ensuring that the people live peacefully in the country," he added.
This is the first time that the Raising Day parade of the CRPF is being held anywhere outside the organisation's headquarters. Shah said that the Government of India has decided that annual parades of all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) will be held in different parts of the country.
The valley has a huge presence of CRPF personnel to deal with militancy and law and order. Besides the CRPF and J&K police, the Army, BSF, ITBP, and SSB are also present in Kashmir.
A recent report published on News18 said that force had rented 737 premises in Jammu and Kashmir for professional duties, including homes of Kashmiri Pandits and temples, cinema halls, hospitals, and hotels.
Shah also credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the dream of one chief, one insignia and one legislation, both of which were dreams of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (considered founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh) and Pandit Premnath Dogra, have been fulfilled.
He added that the "CRPF is the country’s largest armed force with 246 battalions and 3.25 lakh soldiers, whose credibility is recognised not only in the country, but by all armed forces in the world".
(With inputs from IANS.)
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