PM, PC blend ‘saffron’ terror with extremism
New Delhi, Feb. 1: The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the Union home minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, on Tuesday went on to blend “religious fundamentalism” with left wing extremism, cross-border terrorism, and ethnic violence.
Both the Prime Minister and the home minister, however, avoided any direct reference to right-wing groups while addressing the conference of Chief Ministers on internal security on Tuesday.
Later, asked whether he was referring to “saffron terror”, Mr Chidambaram said, “if you want to call it saffron terror, you can.”
The Prime Minister said, “We all need to be conscious of the fact that serious challenges and threats — primarily from left-wing extremism, cross-border terrorism, religious fundamentalism and ethnic violence — still persist.”
He said there can be no let-up in the government’s efforts in the fight against terrorism and communal violence.
Incidentally, the Chief Ministers of the many Opposition ruled states —West Bengal, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Karnataka — were missing, as were the Congress Chief Ministers of Assam and Haryana.
While cautioning that there has been “no let up in infiltration attempts from across the India-Pakistan border,” Mr Chidambaram said that “there are a number of modules operating within the country, and new groups have raised their heads that are suspected to be behind some terrorist attacks that took place in recent years.”
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