Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latter’s office in Parliament House and sought the Centre’s assistance in tacking the issues of the Maoist insurgency and illegal migration from across the border.
This is for the first time that Gogoi met the Prime Minister after he assumed the office. Gogoi also submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister seeking the Central Government’s help in issues like infrastructure development, employment generation, improving communication networks and a gamut of other issues.
“Of late, left Wing Extremism (lWE) or Maoist insurgency has been developing its base in some areas of Assam and we have been requesting for inclusion of at least two districts of Assam-Tinsukia and Dibrugarh, within the ambit of the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) to combat lWE. The Maoists insurgents are also seeking to join hands with militants and insurgents of the State. We would urge a comprehensive and coordinated strategy between the Central and state governments to nip this growing nexus of extremists in the bud,” he said.
“We have already submitted a proposal to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 2012 for strengthening of the State police by the raising of India Reserve (IR) Battalions. The State Government is also creating a special commando force named the Assam Police Rangers, trained in jungle warfare, similar to the lines of the ‘Greyhounds’ of Andhra Pradesh. This is being done by retraining and augmenting the strength of the small unit of Assam Police Rangers already in existence,” said Gogoi.