CAA to preserve India's vast resources: Jitendra Singh

Union minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said the amended citizenship act is going to preserve the country's vast resources, both natural and human, and there is a need to make people aware about this aspect of the newly enacted legislation.

The minister's comments came amidst violent protests against the act, which seeks to given Indian nationality to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

"The act is going to preserve India's vast resources, both natural and human. Awareness needs to be generated about this aspect," he said delivering the keynote address a seminar on 'Border States and National Security', organised by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA).

Singh also said that militancy and cross-border terrorism have become a serious challenge and the entire security dynamics have changed over the years.

The minister said the northeastern region has a large areas which have borders with many countries and there is a need to understand the people living in such areas and respect their courage as they are first ones to face the burnt in case of any disturbance.

The situation there is not only security-related, but also has a socio-cultural impact on them, he said, adding that the abrogation of provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution is primarily associated with the northern-most bordering state of India.

Singh said the security forces are perpetually in war mode nowadays. Earlier the security forces were trained to fight an enemy from cross-borders and not the anti-national elements within the country, he said.

The minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has placed border areas on high priority and a lot of initiatives have been taken for bordering areas.

He said during the last five-six years, there has been an entirely different approach on how to deal with border security.

Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said the approach of the government has sent signals both ways across the border and to those living at the international borders. This has uplifted the morale of the people living in bordering areas, he said.