BSF jurisdiction row: Congress trying to politicise security issue, says BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia

Chandigarh, October 25

The state BJP today boycotted the all-party meeting called by the government over the extension of jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF).

Just before the meeting, the party at a press conference said the Congress government was trying to politicise the issue of national security, which was unacceptable.

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Participating in the all-party meeting, SAD (Sanyukt) president and RS MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa opposed the Centre’s decision to expand BSF’s jurisdiction, calling it “blatant robbery of the rights of the state”.

Manoranjan Kalia, former minister, said CM Channi should have instead called the all-party meeting on government’s failure to curb the drug menace, smuggling of illegal arms and ammunition across border, etc.

Kalia said the NDA government had simply extended the area of operation from 15 km to 50 km under the BSF Act, 1968, which was passed by the Congress government at the Centre to stem the menace of smuggling of narcotics and other prohibited items, besides illegal entry of foreigners.

The extension of BSF operations was required due to use of advanced technologies in illegal activities from across the border, he said.

In the border belt, drones with GPS coordinates from Pakistan were being used, keeping the security forces on their toes. Most of these were being used to smuggle heroin and arms, asserted Kalia.

“No less than three Pakistan telecom providers’ signal were available along the border. The use of Pakistan SIM cards diminished the risk of interception. Thus, the gravity of situation necessitated the move to check the nefarious activities from Pakistan,” said Kalia.

The enhancement of BSF’s jurisdiction did not curtail the jurisdiction of the Punjab Police. “After a suspect has been detained or a consignment seized, the BSF can only conduct ‘preliminary questioning’ and has to hand over the suspect to Punjab Police within 24 hours,” he said. — TNS

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