Centre may take \'hard decision\' against LWE post CAB, Art 370: Eastern Army Commander

Kolkata: The Narendra Modi government is next likely to take a 'hard decision,' similar to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, to end the Left Wing Extremism in its second term as part of its aim to solve internal conflicts of the country.

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan indicated this on Saturday.

"As far as the Indian security scenerio is concerned, the current government is keen to take hard decisions which have been pending for a very long time. In the first year of its second term, we have already seen Article 370 revoked and Jammu and Kashmir state has been bifurcated into two," he told the 9th CII Industry Defence Linkage: "Indigenization in Defence Sector."

Lt Gen Chauhan elaborated, "The government is keen to conclude the talks with the Nagas which have been going on for a long time. They are primarily assessing its impact on Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur before taking a call on this. Yesterday you have seen the CAB has been passed despite reservations expressed by couple of North Eastern states."

He added, "It would not be hard to guess that some hard decisions in respect of the LWE may also be on the card after this. So the internal security environment is a very challenging one."

The Eastern Army Commander, however, observed that the present economic scenario has been opposite to the high-cost defence expenditures for modernisation of the armed forces.

"Although the present state of the economy does not look very bright to undertake any high-end defence expenditure, the government, however, have to provide funds both for modernisation and sustenance of the army," he said.

Lt Gen Chauhan informed that the Eastern Command's focus areas of procurement would be met by the special budget under the Army Commander's Special Financial Powers.

The list of requirements would cover night sighting capability, areial and ground surveillance platforms, commanders' surveillance capabilities, army aviation, mobility enhancement, communication equipment, he underlined.

Catch the latest news, live coverage and in-depth analyses from India and World. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.