Govt may use UAVs in new anti-Naxal plan

Army to go with govt decision
NEW DELHI, APRIL 8 
Forty-eight hours after one of the worst attacks against Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh, the Home Ministry, it is learnt, will approach the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) soon with a new anti-Naxal strategy.
The Home Ministry has requested the Defence Ministry to lend them two unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs controlled by trained Air Force personnel for their anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh. However, the request is still pending with the Defence Ministry.
Sources say Defence Minister A K Antony does not want to employ military resources against people. The Defence Ministry is making it clear that the aircraft and drones will be used only for defensive operations, such as rescue, search and surveillance and cannot be used for offensive operations.
There is still no clarity if the Air Force personnel manning the helicopters can fire back in self defence if they are fired upon while engaging in defensive operations.
But in the wake of different opinions coming from Home Ministry, the army and Air Force chief, the home minister is likely to approach the CCS asking for a fresh mandate to use aircraft.
It is also learnt from sources that one of the demands of the CRPF contingent was to be airlifted; however, this didn’t happen in time.
The final decision will be taken by the committee.
Meanwhile the army will go by whatever government decides on the issue of deploying armed forces in the anti-Naxal operations, army chief General V K Singh said today.  However, he said it would be difficult for him to say anything at the moment.
Singh was asked whether the army would be deployed in the anti-naxal operations against the backdrop of Home Minister P Chidambaram’s remarks that government may have to consider using  Air Force in the fight.
“For this, country’s political leadership will have to take an appropriate decision on this keeping all the things in mind. It would be difficult for me to say whether the army will be deployed in anti-Naxal operations or not. They will decide, we will act accordingly,” General Singh said.
However, he said the question was hypothetical as of now.   On the involvement of the army in anti-Naxal operations in late 60s and early 70s, the army chief said “Circumstances were different and assistance was given for certain things,
which was provided in consultation with the political leadership.”
He said employing the army in these operations has its own implications as “there are a lot of things that you have
to do in terms of what you want as the end result.”
 Asked about Indian and Pakistani Armies carrying out large-scale exercises at the same time along the border in the summer, Singh said it was a coincidence that they were exercising at the same time.
“Both the armies keep doing exercises as per their schedule. If a country wants to validate any concept, they do it in the form of exercises. There is nothing to worry over this,” he added.