ITANAGAR, Sept 13 - Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju today said that the security scenario of North East has improved tremendously.
�In the last four and half years, the security situation in North East has improved tremendously. If you see the figures, the casualties, the incidents, it has come down quite heavily�, he asserted.
�More than 50 per cent incidents of violence and the casualties on the side of militants have reduced, which means, the level of violence has come down. And it is only because of coordinated efforts of our security agencies,� said Rijiju while speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day 25th Conference of DGPs, IGPs and heads of Central Police Organisations (CPOs) of Northeastern region at Dorjee Khandu State Convention Centre here.
While pointing out that Northeastern region has 98 per cent international borders, he said, to face both the internal and external problems, maintaining coordination between the State police and the Central agencies, including Central armed forces and intelligence agencies, becomes very crucial. Otherwise in isolation we cannot achieve anything, he added.
Rijiju said perception about the region requires to be changed. North East is a complex region and policing here is not the same as compared with other parts of the country. We need to put in extra efforts towards tackling the challenges in the region, the MoS Home said.
Talking about �negative� reporting, connotation about inter-State boundary issues between the NE States and their impact on the people, the MoS said the security forces and State Govt officials at the district level must be very sensitive in their conduct and should not incite any individual to vitiate the atmosphere.
Inter-State boundary disputes between Assam and four hill States of Arunachal, Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya require tactful handling by the security forces to avoid any untoward incident, he added.
�If we are to make North East as one of the most-sought-after destinations we have to change the situation on the ground.
He said besides insurgency, there are several other issues putting a strain on the security and law and order scenario, which demands attention of security forces. �We, at Ministry of Home Affairs, are extending maximum support to State security forces in North East,� Rijiju said while exhorting the security forces to work in unison towards securing the NE.
In his inaugural address, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu suggested for strengthening the intelligence sharing mechanism among security forces, follow-up actions and coordination between State police forces so that security apparatus is improved.
Khandu further said that NE must be looked at as one entity when dealing with security matters. He also said that Assam Police has a pivotal role to play in the security of the region as the State shares borders with almost all the States in North East.
The two-day conference, being organised by Intelligence Bureau (IB) with Arunachal Pradesh Govt being the co-host, will discuss issues like counter-insurgency, international borders, UG movement, ethnicity, inter-State coordination, etc.
