Worrying bout of communal violence: Prez

He was speaking at the passing out parade of Indian Police Service probationers at the National Police Academy

Expressing concern in the wake of clashes in Muzaffarnagar, President Pranab Mukherjee today said parts of the country had experienced a "worrying bout" of communal violence and stressed on strengthening local administration for quickly containing such situations.

"There has been a worrying bout of communal violence in some parts of our country, accompanied by a deterioration in inter-community relations. There is a need to strengthen the ability of our district and local administration to notice such tensions in their initial stages and take necessary measures to contain them quickly," Mukherjee said.

He was speaking at the passing out parade of Indian Police Service (IPS) probationers at the National Police Academy here.

The President also spoke about the threat of terrorism from abroad as well as internal security challenges. He said the government is committed to dealing with Left Wing Extremism by conducting proactive operations against extremists while also focusing on development and governance issues in extremist-affected areas.

He said these challenges must be met "head on" and added "the actions of our police forces must respect human rights and the letter and spirit of our constitution".

Mukherjee told the police officers that India's first Home Minister Vallabhbhai Patel had raised the All India services with great expectations. He said Patel's advice to civil servants was that they should never take part in politics and nor involve themselves in communal wrangles.

He said his vision of the police for future India is not that of only a law enforcing body but of a pro-active service provider and a partner in growth, development and peace.

He also said police constables are the visible face of government and therefore enough attention should be paid to their training and development and improvement in their service conditions.