New Delhi, Mar 27: Home Minister P Chidambaram Saturday said the capacity of the militants to strike places in India was high as “they get support from the state.”
At the same time, he said the security forces have the capacity to give a “swift and decisive” response to any fresh attack targeted against the country.
“The challenge before the security apparatus is that the source of the terror lies across our border and they have the support of the state and therefore their capacity to reach here and strike is very high,” he said addressing a AICC lawyers’ convention.
Chidambaram said the cities in India were as vulnerable to attack as those in other parts of the world.
“Like any other country we are vulnerable to terror. We are no more vulnerable and no less vulnerable to terror than any other country,” he said.
“Let me assure you, we will prevail as we have the capacity to face any challenge of terror. Should there be any terror attack on this country, our response will be swift and decisive and we will prevail upon any terrorist threat on this country,” Chidambaram said.
The Home Minister asked every citizen to take at least minimum precaution saying: “Ultimately, we must defend ourselves. Each establishment, each shop must take minimum precaution to protect in case of terror attack,” he said.
Chidambaram listed Maoist violence as one of the grave challenges facing the country and assured the gathering that the government would free areas held by Naxals in the next three years.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 27 Mar 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 27 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 28 Mar 2010 00:00:00 IST