Drugs caught off Kerala coast over cumulative seizure value under UPA: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the value of recent drug seizure off the Kerala coast was more than the cumulative value of narcotics seized during the tenyear rule of Congressled UPA government at the Centre before the BJP came to power in 2014 In a jibe at Congress he said the lapses in coastal security led to the 2611 Mumbai terror attackShah made these comments while laying the foundation stone for the permanent campus of the National Academy of Coastal Policing NACP at Okha in Gujarats Devbhumi Dwarka districtThe Indian Navy and Coast Guard caught drugs worth Rs 12000 crore off the Kerala coast recently This is more than what was caught in an entire year in the past During ten years of UPA narcotics worth Rs 680 crore were seized And we have caught drugs worth Rs 12000 crore in one instance It proves that the security scenario has improved the home minister saidNearly 2500 kg of methamphetamine worth around Rs 12000 crore was seized from a vessel in Indian waters along the Kerala coast in a joint operation by the Navy and the Narcotics Control Bureau NCB around a week backSecurity experts have admitted that Indias security has strengthened and citizens living inside the country and near the border feel safer after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014 said ShahHe said Modi first strengthened Gujarats security as its chief minister before 2014 and now he is trying to secure the country with the cooperation of different state governmentsReferring to the 2611 Mumbai terror attack when Pakistanbased attackers entered the city through sea route without any trouble Shah said lapses in the coastal security led to the tragedyThe Congressled UPA was in power when ten terrorists attacked Mumbai on November 26 2008This country paid a huge price for the lapses in our coastal security No patriotic citizen can forget that tragedy when 166 innocent citizens lost their lives due to the lapses in our security setup Our country faced humiliation in the world due to the Mumbai terror attack said ShahHe said there had been no policy for coastal security which led to the Mumbai attacksUnder the Modi government a holistic policy on coastal security is now being followed and enemies planning to do similar misadventures will be given a befitting reply now said Shah adding that Indians whether living along the border or in central India now feel secureAlso ReadRs 2000 note withdrawn Country cant afford such decisions says Raj ThackerayEarlier there was no specialised training for jawans of the Border Security Force Coast Guard and the Coastal Police of different states and Union Territories But after the Mumbai terror attack it was felt that there should be uniformity in the response of our forces guarding our coastline For that they must get training in a wellplanned manner the home minister saidHe told the audience that PM Modi gave clearance to start NACP at Okha to fulfil this purpose in 2018PM Modi has created a Sudarshan Chakra or security ring for India and has left no stone unturned to fortify the border security he saidNotably NACP the countrys first national academy to train police forces in effectively safeguarding the shoreline started functioning in 2018 from the campus of the Gujarat Fisheries Research CentreNACP was set up to provide intensive and highlevel training to marine police of nine coastal states five UTs as well as the Central Police Forces said a BSF releaseAccording to Shah some people including those from the media had raised concerns when the allocation of funds for border areas increased after Modi became prime minister nine years agoWhat they meant was that funds should be allocated more in areas inside the country where population density is higher I want to tell them that there is no meaning of development in the country if our borders are not safe he saidBefore attending the NACP event Shah who arrived in Gujarat on Saturday morning on a twoday visit offered prayers at the famous Dwarkadhish temple hereHe also met Dwarka peeth Shankaracharya Swami Sadanand SaraswatiThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever