Some NGOs involved in religious conversion, the government has taken action: Amit Shah
On Thursday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that apart from combating terrorism and reducing violence in conflict theatres, the Center has also tightened the functioning of NGOs engaged in “anti-national activities” and “religious conversions”.
Delivering the inaugural address at the first “Chintan camp” or brainstorming session of home ministers and top police officers of all states, Shah also said that at a time when crimes have become “borderless”, and many cross-border laws have been enacted, States should come together to fight crime. “It is our collective responsibility to fight crime together beyond national, state or territorial boundaries,” he said. Shah said that by the end of 2024, every state would have a branch of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Shah said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is working on reforms in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), Indian Penal Code (IPC) and FCRA, and their revised blueprint will be tabled in Parliament soon.
Shah called for a united approach to tackling inter-state crimes in his address. “The Constitution mandates the states to manage law and order, but, due to technological advancements, many regulations have been brought in today that have no boundaries – neither state nor national boundaries. At a time when a crime is borderless, We can fight them only when all the states together consider them, plan and strike unitedly.
“It is our collective responsibility to fight crime together beyond national, state or regional boundaries, free society from fear, and create an environment in which society engages itself in rapid development,” he said.
On Thursday, a two-day contemplation camp to discuss law, order, and security issues began at Surajkund in Haryana’s Faridabad district. While chief ministers of 10 states, where the CM holds the home portfolio, participated in it, other states sent their deputy CMs, home ministers or top police officials.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann were the only chief ministers of opposition-ruled states who were present. Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana), Pushkar Singh Dhami (Uttarakhand), Manik Saha (Tripura), Pramod Sawant (Goa), Prem Singh were among other chief ministers at the event. Tamang (Sikkim) and N Biren Singh (Manipur).
Chief ministers of most of the non-BJP states which hold the home ministry – Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Nitish Kumar (Bihar), MK Stalin (Tamil Nadu) and Naveen Patnaik (Odisha) – skipped the session. West Bengal was represented by ADG (Home Guards), and Telangana and Bihar were represented by their police chiefs and senior bureaucrats.
Shah stated that the country is facing many challenges, “Instead of a regional approach, we need a thematic approach. All the states will have to cooperate by coordinating among themselves. We need to neutralize interstate gangs. All central agencies will continue to cooperate with you (conditions).
Shah said the government was working on the principle of “one data, one entry”, under which the NIA has been given a national database related to terror cases. The NCB has a national database on drug cases, the Enforcement Directorate has a database on economic offences, and the National Crime Records Bureau has been responsible for creating a fingerprint database – the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System – and of sex offenders.
