Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while speaking at a "Chintan Shivir" of state home ministers on Friday, proposed the idea of "One Nation, One Uniform" for police. He, however, clarified that it is just a suggestion and that he is not trying to impose it on anyone.
"The One Nation, One Uniform for police is just an idea. I am not trying to impose it on you. Just give it a thought. It may happen — in 5, 50, or 100 years. But let's give it a thought," PM Modi was quoted by the news agency PTI as saying. He believed that the identity of the police across the country could be identical.
Cooperation among states and agencies
Speaking at the event,
PM Modi also advocated close cooperation among the states to tackle crimes and criminals. The prime minister said all agencies — central and states' — should cooperate with each other to ensure efficiency, better outcomes and protection for the common man.
Modi said every state should learn, get inspired by each other and work together for internal security. "Working together of states for internal security is a constitutional mandate as well as responsibility towards the nation," he added.
Law and order
He said law and order are directly linked to development and hence, it is everyone's responsibility to maintain peace. "When the strength of the country will increase, the power of every citizen, every family will increase," he noted.
The prime minister urged the state governments to review old laws and amend them to the current context. He said laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) have bolstered the fight against terrorism.
His statement came at a time when
Opposition leaders such as PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti had been hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (
BJP) over ongoing investigations under the
UAPA and by central agencies like Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and National Investigation Agency (NIA).
On technology
He pushed for the use of technology and creating awareness among the public. He said the Centre had launched a "police technology mission" and states are working on their level towards it.
"Law and order are not restricted to one state now. Crime is turning interstate and also international. With technology, criminals now have the power to commit crimes beyond our borders. As such, coordination between agencies of all states and the Centre is crucial," he was quoted by the Indian Express as saying.
He said smart technology should be adopted for a smarter law and order system. "We need to think about a common platform for technology that can be shared by all. Best practices of one state can be shared with others," the prime minister said.
Referring to the circulation of fake news, Modi said fact-checking such news is a must and technology plays a big role in it. "People must be made aware of mechanisms to verify messages before forwarding them," he said.
The prime minister said the good old system of generating human intelligence by the police and security agencies should be strengthened for achieving better results.
He asked the states not to look at the budget while selecting technology as "investment in today's technology is a saving in the future".
'Chintan Shivir'
The two-day 'Chintan Shivir' is being organised here by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs with the objective of preparing an action plan for the implementation of 'Vision 2047' and 'Panch Pran', which were announced in Prime Minister Modi's Independence Day speech.
Home ministers of all the states are meeting at the event to discuss a host of internal security issues like the development of an ecosystem for cybercrime management, modernisation of police forces, increase in usage of information technology in the criminal justice system, land border management and coastal security and other internal security.
With inputs from PTI.
