PM stresses ‘smart policing’ to ensure safe environment

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 16

Stressing on the need for better coordination and interaction between the police departments of the states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today highlighted that “smart policing” should be practiced to ensure safe environment for people to prosper. 

In his concluding remarks at the 11th meeting of the Inter-State Council here, the Prime Minister said, “There should be better coordination between the police departments of the states. For this the focus should be on technology and training of the police personnel, particularly in matters related to cyber crime.”

Modi also mentioned that Aadhaar seeding should be attempted to “the maximum extent possible” in the implementation of welfare schemes. “While expansion of educational facilities for school education was the only area of priority earlier, today we should in addition focus on the quality of education and learning outcomes and technology can greatly help in this,” he insisted.

In the meeting it was decided that all states will set up DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) cells. The statement released by the Inter-State Council Secretariat confirmed that the states promised to improve the quality of education and learning outcomes.

However, discordant views were expressed on — federalism and internal security.

Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Badal came down heavily on the Centre, accusing it of “usurping” states’ powers and indulging in a “constitutional rampage” by quietly shifting subjects from the “State List” to “Concurrent List” and then to “Union List”. 

Earlier in the day, Home Minister Rajnath Singh laid stress on the importance of “cooperative federalism” and how the Modi government was committed to “the ideal of Centre-state cooperation”. 

The Prime Minister, who chaired the meeting, in his inaugural address stressed that internal security could not be strengthened until and unless the states and the Centre focused on sharing intelligence. “We have to remain alert and updated always,” he added.