The latest confrontation between the Congress-ruled Punjab and the Union government is over increasing the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) to thwart internal security threats like drone attacks which have witnessed a steady rise in the border state. The threat is real and worrisome, but the bigger question is whether BSF has the capacity and technology to thwart drone attacks?
Officers who served in the BSF said the central paramilitary force has no technology for neutralising such drones after they have entered a particular state. Different types of anti-drone technology is being tested by central agencies for deployment in border areas, airports and air bases, but air defence is not the mandate of the BSF, said a senior government official. From pump action guns to rubber bullets, the border force has been using non-lethal technology in the mainland to neutralise low flying drones around camps and sensitive installations till appropriate technology is found to thwart aerial attacks.
''Air Force is already in the process of acquiring counter-drone technology,'' said the official.
Moreover, drones entering from across the border have normally been found incapable of travelling up to 50km inside Indian territory.
However, the BSF is caught in the crosshairs of a political slugfest between the Centre and opposition-ruled states, like Punjab and West Bengal .
While Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has called a special assembly session on November 8 to discuss the Centre's notification enhancing the jurisdiction of the border guarding force in the state, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is already at loggerheads with the Union home ministry, alleging misuse of central paramilitary forces deployed in the state to assist state police in law and order duties.
The latest order of the home ministry to extend the jurisdiction of the security force from 15km to 50km along the international border in the state has raised the political heat.
Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, meanwhile, backed the Union home ministry's move, saying drones have been used to send in drugs and weapons from across the border and the support of the BSF is needed to counter the growing threat. While Singh, who recently quit the Congress, is aware of the limited capabilities of the paramilitary forces in neutralising drones, the matter has become a political hot potato for now.
For the security agencies, the moot question that remains unanswered is what purpose will the extension of jurisdiction of BSF serve, if it does not value add to its existing role and responsibility?
Many within the security establishment feel this was an avoidable confrontation. ''The opposition-ruled states have got a leverage,'' said a state official.
While the latest order has the potential of misuse of BSF by the Centre, it can also stir up unrest within the different police forces operating in one jurisdiction, particularly in sensitive border states where close coordination is needed among various security forces to counter terror and narcotics threats.
Law and order is a state subject. It is also a known fact that some of the best operations of neutralising terrorists or arresting top naxal commanders have been possible only due to good coordination between central and state police forces in insurgency-affected regions like Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast or left wing extremism-affected states like Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.
“The BSF never felt any constraints ever on account of earlier jurisdictions. Moreover, it does not operate beyond few kilometers of the border because there has never been such a need and even when there was a need, no one objected to its movements since operations were conducted with the local police on board,'' said a CRPF official who has served in naxal areas.
''Policing in the mainland should be left to the local police. Today, the BSF jurisdiction is extended to 50km, tomorrow some other government may like to do more,'' said a state police official .
The Union home ministry officials differ. Ministry officials said the Centre has acted within its powers. “The BSF is only operating within its limits and it is only following a uniform mandate now,'' said the official. The BSF enjoys powers under Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and the Passport Act, 1967 for arrest and search.
The BSF also has powers to arrest, search and seize under the NDPS Act, Arms Act, and Customs Act, but these do not cover the extended jurisdiction so far. Over the last decade or more, the BSF jurisdiction has varied from state to state. The UPA government had kept it at 50km and more in Gujarat during its tenure, which resulted in opposition by the then BJP government in the state. The wheel has only turned this time.
