Will meet Amit Shah, says Sharad Pawar on extension of BSF's operational jurisdiction
Oct 16, 2021
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], October 16 : Nationalist Congress Party chief, Sharad Pawar on Saturday said that he will be meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah "to know his thoughts about" the extension of BSF's (Border Security Force) operational jurisdiction.
" I will be meeting Home Minister Amit Shah to know his thoughts about it, said Pawar referring to the Union Home Ministry order of extending the operational area under the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) in border states including West Bengal, Punjab and Assam, giving the paramilitary personnel powers of arrest, search and seizure, on par with state police.
Centre said the move was aimed at maintaining "zero tolerance" against terrorism and cross border crimes, and empowered the BSF to conduct searches, arrest suspects and make seizures up to an area of 50 km inside Indian territory from the International Border (IB) along the India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders.
As per the fresh order, the BSF, which was only empowered to take action up to fifteen kilometres in the states of Punjab, West Bengal, and Assam, has now been authorised to spread its jurisdiction up to 50 km without any hurdle or further permission either from central or state governments.
