Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Sunday said that there should be zero tolerance towards violence and “anyone who uses a gun should be dealt with a gun”, ANI reported.
“No negotiation with anyone who talks against unity and integrity of the country,” he said. “No talks with any armed group in last eight years, if only for surrender.”
The governor said that in the past eight years, any conversations with armed groups have only been about surrender and rehabilitation, and not political demands.
Ravi made the statement in Kochi at an event organised by the human rights group Vigil on “Contemporary challenges to internal security” in the country.
Ravi, the former governor of Nagaland, was the Centre’s interlocutor for the Naga peace talks. Differences had emerged between the Centre and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah), with the latter demanding Ravi’s removal as the interlocutor in 2020.
The group, which had signed a peace treaty and started a dialogue with the government on the matter of a sovereign homeland in 1997, had accused Ravi of creating tensions among the parties involved in the negotiations.
On Sunday, Ravi also spoke about the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008 and blamed the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for signing an agreement with Pakistan on terrorism, ANI reported.
“When 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack happened, the whole country was traumatised, the country was humiliated by a handful of terrorists,” the governor said. “Within nine months of the attacks, our then PM and Pakistan PM signed a joint communique stating both countries were victims of terrorism.”
He appeared to have been referring to a joint statement between Singh and then Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on July 16, 2009 at Sharm Al-Sheikh in Egypt. According to the joint statement, both leaders had agreed that terrorism was the main threat to both countries.
Ravi also said that India should make its stand clear on Pakistan.
“It has to be clear if Pakistan is a friend or an enemy,” he added. “After Pulwama attack, we hit back at Pakistan in Balakot using air power. The message was that if you commit an act of terrorism, you will have to pay the cost.”
The Indian Air Force had struck a Jaish-e-Mohammad camp in Balakot on February 26, days after a terrorist attack killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir. Jaish-e-Mohammad had claimed responsibility for the attack.
According to Ravi, India’s internal security at present is better than what it was under the Singh-led United Progressive Alliance government’s rule.
“During the time of Manmohan Singh, the serious threat to our internal security was the Maoist violence,” Ravi said, ANI reported. “They had spread to over 185 districts across central India. And people were even talking about the Red Corridor. The situation was alarming. Today, their presence is limited to less than eight districts and that too at a much-reduced pace.”
Ravi also said that instances of violence have sharply declined.
“Neutralisation of the terrorists has been possible not because our system has improved dramatically, but largely because of people’s cooperation,” he added. “People have started rejecting the terrorists and cooperating with the system to normalise the situation.”
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