VIJAYAWADA: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said that the menace of Maoist activities and infiltration into northeastern states came down drastically.
Speaking to a section of media on the sidelines of laying foundation stone for the 10th battalion of National Disaster Response (NDRF) at Kondapavuluru village in Gannavaram mandal of Krishna district on Monday, Rajnath said that Left extremism declined by 55 per cent. Infiltration to northeastern states also decreased by over 70 percent, he asserted.
Reacting to the Kashmir issue, the Union Minister said that the Indian government is ready to hold talks if the Pakistan comes forward to sort out the issue.
Stating that the decision regarding the demonetisation of high value currency notes being supported by people, he exuded confidence that BJP will win the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and other states as the people have already decided to give their mandate to the saffron party.
When asked about the tardy progress in resolving the issues mentioned in the AP Reorganisation Act, the Union Home Minister said they will focus on resolving the issues amicably.
Earlier, addressing the NDRF personnel, he said that NDRF won international acclaim by participating in rescue operations and rescuing public during the earthquakes that rocked Nepal and Japan.
He said the Japan Mayor hailed the role of NDRF in rescuing the people during the earthquake. The humanitarian approach in NDRF operations impressed the foreign leaders, he said. Similarly, people of Nepal are still discussing the services of NDRF during the earthquake that struck their country.
Describing NDRF as the only agency that improved its mettle just in a decade and reached a position that no organisation will come near to it, he, however, felt that NDRF should adopt proactive role and further improve its performance to deal with not only natural calamities but also with nuclear and radiological disasters.
Responding positively to the pleas of AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu, Rajnath Singh said that orders have already been issued for setting up a CRPF battalion in Andhra Pradesh and the personnel will come to the state after completion of elections in five states.
He also said that proposals came from the state government for setting up of a Greyhounds training centre and Rapid Action Force (RAF) and both of them will be sanctioned at the earliest.