CRPF should be equipped with modern weaponry: President

President Pranab Mukherjee Friday said the CRPF should be equipped with modern weaponry to boost the confidence in the paramilitary force.

Mukherjee called the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) a "pan-India force" which has taken "pioneering steps towards modernisation and enhanced combativeness".

"But more needs to be done. Ground level tactics have to be made more innovative by the adoption of state-of-art planning strategies," Mukherjee said at a function to mark the diamond jubilee year of the CRPF.

"To give confidence to the troops, they have to be equipped with modern gadgetry and weaponry. To develop their morale further, the welfare issues have to be addressed promptly," he said.

The president also said that the CRPF was an important pillar of our country's internal security apparatus.

"The diversity of its role and its unique adaptability to situational requirements, and its capacity to deliver operational dividends in difficult circumstances has distinguished it as a very valuable organisation," Mukherjee said.

CRPF Director General Dilip Trivedi said during the glorious period of 75 years, the force has taken on the Pakistani and the Chinese invasions, been in the forefront of the fight for national integration.

The force also played a significant role in anti-militancy operations in the North-East and Jammu and Kashmir, contained communal violence in various parts of the country and has been actively involved in maintaining law and order throughout the nation, he said.

He added that the role of CRPF in the recently conducted peaceful state assembly elections in Naxal infested Chhattisgarh was a vivid example of upholding the democratic processes of the country.