Form of words:
New Delhi: BSF officials said that the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force has been expanded from 15 km to 50 km inside the international border with Punjab, West Bengal and Assam by the Ministry of Home Affairs to prevent cross-border crime and This is not an intrusion into the autonomy of the states. .
“This amendment will enable better operational effectiveness in preventing cross-border crime, including smuggling of drugs, ammunition, animal smuggling and exposing counterfeit currency rackets in the said states. This move has given more responsibility to the BSF as the depth to which we can operate has been expanded,” a senior official told ThePrint.
“However, it will be need-based. It is not that there will always be deployment of soldiers in that 50 km area of the state. That’s all, our area of operation has been extended,” he said.
In a notification on Monday, the home ministry said it is amending a 2014 notification relating to the jurisdiction of the BSF to exercise its powers in states touching the international border.
Earlier this limit was fixed at 80 km in case of Gujarat and 15 km in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam. In Punjab, West Bengal and Assam, this limit has now been increased to 50 km, while in Gujarat it has been reduced from 80 km to 50 km.
“Furthermore, the present amendment also establishes uniformity in defining the area within which the BSF can operate. Like for Rajasthan it was 50 km, which has been reduced to 50 km. For Gujarat it was 80 km and now it has been increased to 50 km, while for Assam, Punjab and West Bengal it has been increased from 15 km to 50 km. People should not read much in this,” the official quoted above.
“The move is aimed at achieving uniformity. Besides, it will give strategic advantage to the force to deal with crimes on the border more effectively,” a senior home ministry official, who wished to remain anonymous, told ThePrint.
However, this step criticized By the opposition-ruled states of Punjab and West Bengal, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Channi called it a “direct attack on federalism”.
Read also: Home Minister Amit Shah says there will be no difference in India’s 7500 km long border by 2022
What changes for BSF
According to the new notification, the jurisdiction of the BSF now includes “the entire area of the States of Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya and the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and so much area within a fifty-kilometre belt of Gujarat, The states of Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal and Assam run along the borders of India”.
Meanwhile, an earlier notification, issued on July 3, 2014 and amended by the MHA on Monday, defined BSF jurisdiction as “the entire area comprising and comprising the states of Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya”. A belt of eighty kilometers in the state of Gujarat, fifty kilometers in the state of Rajasthan and fifteen kilometers in the states of Punjab, West Bengal and Assam, runs along the borders of India”.
According to a BSF official, only Assam, West Bengal and Punjab have increased jurisdiction.
“The only difference from then and now is the increase in the jurisdiction of the BSF in the states of Assam, West Bengal and Punjab relating to the number of km. It remains the same for Rajasthan,” the official said.
“All the powers of BSF personnel operating in the border states, including working closely with the local police on drug recovery, infiltration, will continue,” he said.
Read also: Over 81,000 paramilitary officers voluntarily retired, 16,000 resigned since 2011: MHA data
the opposition is dishonest
Meanwhile, opposition leaders condemned the Home Ministry’s decision.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Punjab CM Channi termed the move as irrational and asked Home Minister Amit Shah to withdraw it.
“I strongly condemn the unilateral decision of the Government of India to give additional powers to the BSF within the 50 KM belt running along the international borders, which is a direct attack on federalism. I urge Union Home Minister @AmitShah to immediately withdraw this irrational decision,” Channi said.
I strongly condemn the unilateral decision of the Government of India to give additional powers to the BSF within a radius of 50 km along the international borders, which is a direct attack on federalism. I urge the Union Home Minister @AmitShah To withdraw this irrational decision immediately.
— Charanjit S Channi (@charanjeetchanni) 13 October 2021
Trinamool Congress leaders alleged that the move was taken without consulting the West Bengal government.
“We oppose this decision. This is a violation of the rights of the state. What was the sudden need to increase the jurisdiction of BSF without informing the state government? TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh told PTI.
“If the BSF has to conduct any searches, they can always do so in collaboration with the state police. This practice has been in place for years. This is an attack on the federal structure.”
Congress MP Manish Tewari also rejected the MHA notification and said it was a violation of constitutional public order.
“MHA notification to increase BSF’s operations in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam from 15 to 50 kms on constitutional public order and policing remit of states, half of Punjab will now come under BSF’s jurisdiction,” Tiwari tweeted on Wednesday.
MHA notification extending operational mandate of BSF to Punjab, West Bengal and Assam, 15 to 50 kms on constitutional public order and states’ policing remit. Half of Punjab will now come under BSF’s jurisdiction
@charanjeetchanni should oppose it
https://t.co/Yy3pOnbFGN— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) 13 October 2021
In another tweet, Tiwari said that Section 139 of the Border Security Force Act, 1968, gives the force wide powers of arrest and preventive arrest.
Section 139(ii) gives broad powers to the BSF to arrest. It has the powers of preventive arrest under section 139(1) and arrest after offense under section 139(ii). There is no mention of consultation with the local police. There is a need to study the scheme of the Act and its implementation mechanism.@kbssidhu1961 pic.twitter.com/c4Q6e7pdi
— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) 13 October 2021
Responding to this, another BSF officer said that these are not recent couples.
“These powers have been given to the force under the BSF Act 1968. It is not an addition that has been made now. Furthermore, there is no such thing as a comprehensive power to arrest. In any operation, the local police are consulted, and their assistance is sought to make arrests. This notification has not in any way expanded the powers of the BSF but has expanded the area of operation,” the official told ThePrint.
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