Chidambaram sets two goals to fight terrorism

PLAN AGAINST TERROR: Prime Minister and Home Minister urge states to improve security systems.

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New Delhi: India must set itself “two goals” to improve national security and take up a “proactive” approach against terrorism, said Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday.

Chidambaram asked the country's top police brass to improve preparedness against sophisticated terror attacks and enhance the speed and decisiveness of response mechanisms.

"Thirty-six days into this office, I am more convinced than ever before that we have to set for ourselves two goals," her said while addressing a conference of Chief Ministers and Directors General of Police on internal security.

The Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 were the tipping point and India can foil and fight such attacks by improving intelligence gathering and sharing. "Fear saps the energy of the nation. The security of the people ranks above other considerations. Liberty and equality have meaning only if there is security," he said.

"One of the first tasks that I undertook was to re-establish and empower the Multi Agency Centre (MAC). Beginning Jan 1, the MAC has begun to function on a 24x7 basis and is now legally obliged to share intelligence with all other agencies."

Lamenting that state governments had not done enough to improve core policing, especially fill up gaping vacancies in their police forces, Chidambaram said the local police station was at the hub and the best source of intelligence.

"As seasoned administrators you will agree with me that nothing of consequence can happen within the jurisdiction of a police station without the knowledge of the station house officer. The local police station is the best source of intelligence."

But the police department was neglected and understaffed. Vacancies existed for 113,779 constables, 18,654 sub-inspectors and 2,099 deputy superintendents of police across the country as of August 1 last year, he said.

"Our response to terrorism cannot be reactive. There is ample evidence that many terrorist modules have burrowed their way into the country. There are also many sleeper cells.

"We must adopt a proactive approach to apprehend these people and thwart any possible terrorist threat. In this regard, too, the key is gathering and sharing intelligence and responding in a coordinated manner to apprehend the potential terrorist."

To hasten response mechanisms to terrorist strikes, Chidamabaram said the Central government would set up hubs of the elite National Security Guard and as the first step would begin functioning in the four metro cities.

"Some other cities will be covered by trained anti-terrorist forces provided by the defence forces. For example, Bengaluru will be covered by the Army."

More important, Chidambaram made a strong case for a proper command structure in the event of a terror attack.

"There must be no ambiguity or confusion about who is in-charge; who will have overall authority over the different forces; who will deploy the forces according to the needs of the situation; and who will be held accountable for the success of the operation," he added.

"There must be at least one person of the rank of the head constable or an assistant sub-inspector who is exclusively charged with this (intelligence gathering) responsibility, and is burdened with no other work," he said.

Chidambaram, who travels to the US next week with a dossier of evidence compiled by Indian investigative agencies on the people who carried out the attack, has maintained that the evidence against Pakistan was overwhelming.

(With inputs from IANS and PTI.)