HYDERABAD: The Union home minister S.B. Chavan Sunday said the Army should not be called to tackle internal disturbances.

Speaking on the occasion of laying the foundation for the administrative block of the Andhra Pradesh Police Academy (APPA) here he said the police should be given the entire responsibility to meet the law and order situation.

With this objective in view he said an expert committee is proposed to be instituted to determine the strength training weaponry gadgets and communication needs and all other aspects of the police in the country.

The idea of an expert committee he said had emerged from a recent meeting of a sub-committee on the Center-state relations where a few chief ministers suggested the police force be strengthened and monetized to enable it to deal with the law and order situation effectively as the ultimate objective is to avoid calling in the Army for law and order duty.

However he said the matter would be discussed with the Prime Minister and the finance minister so that there could be no difficulty in getting fends when it becomes: art of the plan.

Chavan said the country was facing the problem of terrorism from across the border particularly Pakistan which be added was providing training funds and even logistic support to terrorism “We are facing terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab and thus we are facing problems all around the country” he added.

Referring to the recent view of top officials from the United States and United Kingdom he said they both appreciated our analysis of the situation and promised all support to tackle the problem.

Article extracted from this publication >> January 31, 1992