Shadow Correspondent
JAMMU, May 3:
Jammu and Kashmir Freedom Fighters Association (JKFFA) here on Friday paid rich tributes to 15 martyred security personnel at Gadchiroli in Maharashtra.
The function was organised by JKFFA Chairman Ved Gandotra and Vice-Chairman Rajiv Mahajan in presence of President of Association, R C Puri besides other members of Association at Dogra Shaurya Sthal, Ambphalla, here.
Members observed a two-minute silence to pay tribute to martyrs.
Speaking on the occasion, Vikram Gujral, Additional Director of J&K Bank was also present, Gujral said that Naxalism remains the biggest internal security challenge and it is imperative to control Left-wing extremism for the country’s growth.
Government should not underestimate the problem of Naxalism, he said adding that there is no doubt that Naxalism remains the biggest internal security challenge facing our country.
He said there was no difference of opinion between the Central and the state governments on the issue of left-wing extremism.
Gujral said to exploit full benefit of economic reforms, it is important to control Naxalism and terrorist elements.
“If we don’t, it can affect our growth,” he said. Government must show determination to squarely tackle the threat of terrorism and ideological extremism of various kinds. He said that terrorism is a major national security issue and it has no religion. Terrorism, he said, is being sponsored by particular religious elements and has to be dealt with “effectively” and “purposefully”.
Speaking on the occasion, Rajiv Mahajan said that the Naxalites highlight the nation’s interior weakness and revealing of interior weakness is an open invitation to the external threats. The Naxalites are hampering economic reforms by creating problems in developing the regions where they rule. Also, the resources that should be used for nation’s overall development is spent on internal security so as to control the Naxalite activities. Naxalites highlight several underlying weaknesses of India’s political structure, governance and socio-economic structure, he added. Corruption and criminalization in Indian politics is a major threat because if the system is not clean, no threat whether internal or external can be faced.
India’s diverse population is the biggest threat as the imbalance between demand and supply of resources is increasing day by day Policy paralysis and instability resulting out of political terror is hampering India’s growth in various sectors.
There is no doubt that Naxalites problem is one of the major threats to India’s internal security. It has got multi-dimensional adverse impact on nation. Until and unless, the political mess is not cleared, the problems of Naxalites can never be solved. Therefore, the real threat is not the Naxalites but the real threats are the political parties and the system which has failed to contain the problem in so many years, Mahajan maintained.
Other prominent persons present were Neeraj Anand, Karnail Chand, Rajinder Singh, J.J Singh, Brij Mehra, R.R Raina, Surinder Chouhan, Pritam Sharma and Gaurav Kumar.
