Internal & external security equally vital, asserts Rajnath
NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday paid his respects at the National Police Memorial in New Delhi on the Police Commemoration Day, remembering the sacrifice of 10 policemen who were killed during a Chinese ambush at Hot Springs, Ladakh, in 1959.
The function was graced by Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Director of the Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka, Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF) Daljit Singh Chawdhary, and some top officials of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Delhi Police.
Speaking at the function, Rajnath Singh paid rich tributes to the martyred policemen and offered his heartiest gratitude to the nation’s police and paramilitary personnel for their unstinted service and sacrifices. He defined the armed forces and police as two pillars of national security — the armed forces protecting India’s geographical integrity and the police maintaining its social integrity.
“Though the military and police operate on different platforms, the mission is one—to serve and protect the country,” he added, reiterating that there was a need to keep the balance between internal and external security intact to realise the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Speaking about the issues of the time, the Defence minister said the country is experiencing instability on the borders and growing internal threats in the form of organised crime, terrorism, and ideological warfare.
He said that contemporary crime has turned into “invisible and complex” acts that try to destroy social harmony and undermine national stability. Praising the police work, he stated that although they accomplish their official responsibility of crime prevention, they also have the moral burden of ensuring trust among society. “If citizens are sleeping soundly today, it is due to their faith in our alert police and watchful armed forces,” he observed.
Rajnath Singh also pointed out the remarkable gains in countering left-wing extremism, attributing it to the collective efforts of police, CRPF, BSF, and local governments in avoiding further intensification. He was optimistic the Naxal issue would be over by March next year, further stating that regions which were previously referred to as “Red Corridors” are now developing into “growth corridors”.
He spoke about the commissioning of the National Police Memorial in 2018 during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a long-overdue tribute to police martyrs. The administration, he added, is further modernising police forces with advanced weaponry, surveillance equipment, drones, and digital technologies.
Urging better coordination between security agencies, he emphasised that effective policing relies on respect and cooperation between society and police.
