Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was familiar with the financial wizardry of P. Chidambaram, to whom he entrusted the Home Ministry soon after 26/11. And nine months later, when Mr. Chidambaram’s “proactive” approach and efforts to galvanise the internal security apparatus are beginning to show results, Dr. Singh complimented him and his team.
The Prime Minister was speaking at the annual conference of the Directors-General and Inspectors-General of Police, organised by the Intelligence Bureau, here on Tuesday.
Probably, Dr. Singh himself was in for a pleasant surprise over the smooth transition of Mr. Chidambaram from the nitty-gritty of budget, taxes, deficit and surplus to actively managing the affairs of the country’s vast and varied internal security machinery.
The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction that action was being taken on the report of the task force that he had announced at the last conference.
“This, together with the action plans drawn up by the Home Ministry, should go a long way to improve police performance, make the security agencies more responsive to terrorist threats and improve overall efficiency.”
During the past year “we have achieved some major successes” in tackling terrorism. Many terrorist modules were dismantled and several important terrorists arrested.
“It is on account of your alertness that we have not had a serious terrorist attack since November last year,” Dr. Singh said.
He also complimented the police, the intelligence agencies and the security forces on their contribution to the free and fair conduct of the recent general elections.
“The relative peace that prevailed both during and before the polls was in large measure a result of your efforts. You deserve the country’s thanks for this performance,” he told the top police and intelligence officials.
