Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday floated the idea of ‘one nation, one police uniform’, urging states to consider a single uniform for police across the country with states at liberty to have their own number or insignia. Addressing the Chintan Shivir of state Home Ministers and police chiefs in Surajkund near Delhi via videoconference, Modi said, “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, it may happen in 5, 50 or 100 years. All states should just think it over.” He said this will ensure that the identity of police across the country is identical. “Currently in our country, there is one nation-one ration card, one nation-one mobility card, one nation-one grid, one nation-one sign language. Just like these, all states should think about having a one nation-one uniform policy… It will give a common identity to law enforcement as citizens will recognise police personnel anywhere in the country. Like a post box that has a distinct identity, police uniform should be identifiable across the country,” he said. Pointing to social media, Modi said one should not limit it to being a source of information because a single fake news has the potential to snowball into a matter of national concern. “During the reservation issue, we saw the kind of fake news that was spread and the subsequent violence. Although things got cleared after 5-6 hours, we had to face losses. There is a need to educate people about analysing and verifying any piece of information from 10 sources before forwarding it to people. We have to come up with technological advancement to prevent the spread of fake news,” he said. Reiterating the need to obliterate the ground network of terrorism, the Prime Minister said every government, in its own capacity and understanding, is trying to do its part. “It is the need of the hour to come together as one and handle the situation. Every form of Naxalism, be it of the gun or the pen, has to be defeated to prevent them from misleading the youth of the country,” he said. #WATCH | "For safety & rights of law-abiding citizens, stringent action against negative forces is our responsibility.Small piece of fake news can kick up a storm across the nation.We'll have to educate people to think before forwarding anything, verify before believing it.." pic.twitter.com/NHF3emMq5S — ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2022 Warning that such forces are increasing their intellectual sphere to mislead the minds of the coming generations, he said, “For the sake of the unity and integrity of the nation, and with the inspiration of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, we cannot allow such forces to flourish in our country. Such forces get significant help internationally.” He said in the last eight years, the number of Naxalite-affected districts in the country has come down significantly. “Be it Jammu & Kashmir or the North East, today we are moving fast towards permanent peace. Now we have to focus on rapid development in all these sectors including infrastructure,” he said. Calling for close cooperation among states in tackling crimes and criminals, he said crime is no longer localised and instances of inter-state, international crimes are going up and that is why mutual cooperation between state agencies and between Central and state agencies is crucial. Modi said that in the laws enacted by the Central government, the will to deal strongly with corruption, terrorism and hawala is clear. “Laws like the UAPA have given strength to the system in a decisive battle against terrorism,” he said. Later in the evening, sources said participants agreed that internal security is the shared responsibility of the Centre and states and “everyone must work with the spirit of Team India”. “All should focus on cyber crime, improving conviction rates, narcotics, border security. There is a need for greater use of forensic science during investigation to improve conviction rate up to 90 per cent. It was agreed that all states should constantly and annually review goals and have a plan on where internal security will be in 2047,” the sources said. The gathering was told that 9,200 North-East militants had surrendered arms in the last eight years.
