MHA can’t be seen as `helpless’ — Vora panel

The report has made far-reaching recommendations to improve the internal security scenario in the country and recommended that “the National Security Council (NSC) should evolve an effective counter-strategy which is adequately pro-active and visibly aggressive.”

Merely deploying Central armed forces to combat insurgencies will not resolve the problem of tackling the proxy war in Jammu & Kashmir and insurgencies in the North-east, says the report. It has pointed out that the civil face of the government must remain visible at all levels.

The report has recommended that the Home Minister should have the powers to appoint and transfer IPS officers. Home ministry officials should have open-ended tenures and the Home Secretary should be selected from the best available officers with experience in internal security with at least a two-year tenure, the report says. It also wants all officials of doubtful integrity in the civil and police cadres are identified and weeded out.

The report is categorical that the Army must be “de-involved” from its commitment on internal security duties. The committee has recommended that every para-military force should revert to its “originally mandated role”. It wants the Border Security Force to perform its statutory duties and concentrate on guarding the border. Its counter-insurgency role should be progressively passed on to the Central Reserve Police Force.

All internal security related work should be handled by a new division which should function directly under the Home Secretary and all central police forces should be managed directly by an Additional Secretary-level official.

The committee wants “strict attention (to be) paid to the enforcement of the visa conditions in respect of visiting Pakistani nationals, donations received by NGOs from foreign sources, activities of religious fundamentalist groups, proliferation of madrasas and mosques and the movement of Bangladeshi nationals.”. These should be monitored by the Special Security Bureau with a revised charter.

The report says that the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) should be amended to make hawala transactions as a criminal offence with a sentence of imprisonment up to seven years and a fine. The Prevention of Money Laundering Bill should be enacted without delay, the report adds.