Lack of political will in fighting insurgency: Former top cop

The feeling of alienation in the Northeast has been tackled to a great extent with the grant of autonomy and setting up of autonomous district councils for tribal communities,according to Union Home Secretary G K Pillai. At the launch of a book,Tripura’s Braveheart,by former Tripura DG B L Vohra,the Home Secretary said,“Tripura has shown how insurgency can be tackled without taking the help of the Army. The opening of the Chittagong port in Bangladesh can also help the Northeast in development.”

In his book,Vohra has attacked the lack of will among politicians to fight terrorism. He said that there’s no reason why the success stories of Punjab and Andhra Pradesh in tacking terrorism and insurgency cannot be replicated in other states. “But the political will needed in Central and state governments is not there in many difficult areas of the country. The political will in the country is,unfortunately,more directed towards vote banks,money and power at the cost of the nation,” he said.

The book attacks former Union home minister Shivraj Patil. “An example of poor governance was between 2004 and 2008 when in spite of so many terrorist attacks… not much was done by the former Home Minister. This is an important lesson that should be learnt by all those who decide postings and transfers in conflict theatres.”

Vohra,who has been credited with curbing instances of insurgency in Tripura,said that there’s “still a lot to be done in the Northeast to eradicate the problem of insurgency”. “The entire region has been reeling under the effect of insurgency for more than two decades,” he said.