Jobless youth attracted towards radicalisation, says Manmohan

NIC meet: BJP, TMC oppose communal violence bill

“Very clearly, lack of productive employment opportunities for our young men and women is one factor which aids such radicalisation. Education and skill development opportunities have a major role to play in addressing this problem”, Singh said while addressing the National Integration Council (NIC) meet here attended by Union ministers, chief ministers and members of civil society.

Besides Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi who did not attend the meet, five others -Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati also skipped the NIC.

The meeting discussed ways to prevent repeat terror strikes in the country with better coordination with the states.

The NIC also exchanged views on the Communal Violence bill with the BJP and Trinamul Congress opposing it in its current form.

The prime minister said the problems of terrorism and Left Wing Extremism constitute two major challenges that our society and polity face today. He drew attention to the attack in Delhi last Wednesday saying it “is  a stark reminder to us that there can be no let up in our vigilance.”

Singh called for continuous upgrading and strengthening of investigating agencies and intelligence gathering apparatus to deal more effectively with the newer methods and technologies that the terrorists and Naxals adopt.

He said in the last few years intelligence sharing mechanism under the Multi-Agency Centre has been bolstered and the National Intelligence Grid, called the NATGRID, is being implemented so that intelligence from various sources can be accessed and analysed to identify actionable points.

The prime minister said the National Investigation Agency has begun investigating terrorist-related crimes in the right earnest and of the 29 cases handed over to this agency, charge sheets have been filed in 20 cases.

He said democracy in the country has struck deeper roots in the recent years with the strengthening of local governance institutions and a more informed and active citizenry.
Jharkhand has held panchayat elections after decades, he noted.

Referring to civil disturbances in the country, the prime minister said “excessive use of force often proves counter-productive.”

“We need to distinguish between criminal activities and misguided discontent that finds unlawful expression. It is with this intent that the Home Ministry has circulated instructions for dealing with crowds in a non-lethal manner”, he said and urged the chief ministers to ensure that these are made operational by equipping and training the police forces.