Be cautious during festive season, says Army chief Bipin Rawat

PATIALA: Making it clear that attempts were being made to revive insurgency in Punjab, Army Staff chief General Bipin Rawat on Sunday said the public should remain cautious during festival season as attempts were being made by some people to disrupt peace in the state.

In a brief interaction with media after an event at Punjab Public School (PPS) in Nabha near here, he said, “Intelligence reports regarding this (are) already available because you have seen what is happening in Punjab over the last few days. People have seen terrorist modules being caught here in Punjab. People should become more alert, especially during the festival season.”

Rawat said terrorism was flushed out of Punjab earlier as the people had helped. “One of our neighbouring countries keeps trying to create disturbances in our country as they don’t want India’s progress. Punjab is a state which is rising and progressing at a very fast pace. I have been reading about Referendum 2020 and going through these reports too. I have come to the conclusion that some attempts are being made to revive insurgency. In Punjab, the ‘Mission 2020’ has been announced. At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that this mission cannot extend to northeastern states."

He claimed that efforts to revive the insurgency were not stuck to Punjab only, but many other states. However, Rawat did not make any comments on the BSF arresting an army man in Ferozepur. “We should not say whose soldier has been nabbed, but we need to stay alert,” he said.