E-Paper
Lt Gen Hooda moots internal security steps in Congress report
The report could be released along with Congress’s manifesto on Tuesday, a person aware of the developments said on condition of anonymity.
Former Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General DS Hooda submitted his vision paper on national security to Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday, stressing the need for measures to improve internal security while also protecting the country’s borders, people with knowledge of the developments said.
Lt Gen Hooda (retired) was picked by the Congress to head its task force on national security. He was the main architect of the surgical strikes carried out by the Army in 2016 on terror launch pads across the Line of Control.
“Lt General (Retd) DS Hooda and his team have put together a comprehensive report on India’s national security that he presented to me today. This exhaustive report will at first be discussed and debated within the Congress party. I thank him and the team for their effort,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted on Sunday.
The report could be released along with Congress’s manifesto on Tuesday, a person aware of the developments said on condition of anonymity.
A Congress leader privy to the contents of the report said it touches upon various aspects of national security. The document talks not only about the territorial integrity and protection of the borders but also about how to secure the country’s populace, the leader said, asking not to be named.
The report has stressed the need to look at issues such as climate change, which is affecting farmers, and the need to increase employment. It mentions that the country needs to adapt to “huge technological changes” taking place across the globe, and whether appropriate education and skilling systems are being created to meet the challenges, the leader said.
Apart from security of the borders and counter-terrorism operations, the report also suggests measures to build capabilities in terms of strengthening areas such as the military, police, intelligence and cyber and energy security.
It calls for looking at national security in a holistic manner and suggests measures to address the internal challenges such as riots, unrest and agitations by a large “dissatisfied” population, the Congress leader said.
The report also talks about strengthening the weaponry system of all wings of the armed forces and also seeks modernisation of the police force that deals directly with the citizens, he added.
Lt Gen Hooda had met the Congress president recently and agreed to head the party’s panel that also comprised professionals such as diplomats and senior police officers.
In December last year, he had remarked that it would have been better if the 2016 surgical strikes were carried out secretly. The Congress president used the remarks as a handle to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that he used the strikes for political capital.
Hooda retired from service a few months after the surgical strikes.
Last year, when the National Security Advisory Board, which analyses internal and external security issues, wanted someone to take a hard look at ways to optimise resources for the armed forces, it had turned to Hooda.
