Naxalism a serious threat: Prez

President Pranab Mukherjee today termed the violent Naxal movement as a "serious threat" to the country's peace and security and called upon security forces to effectively counter this challenge.
"The challenges to our security can come from many sources. We have to fight against terrorism that receives support from outside our country. Both state and non-state actors inimical to the nation are continuously engaged to destabilise India. The Left wing extremism is also another serious threat to social peace and harmony," he said.
"Though we may have to implement the government programmes in these regions effectively, there is also an equal need to strengthen the security forces to combat these anti-national elements. For the security personnel to effectively counter these threats, timely and reliable intelligence is of utmost value," Mukherjee said during the annual endowment lecture of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) here.

He also cautioned police, investigative and enforcement sleuths against the threats caused by false information over social media platforms.
"The rapid change in technology has also resulted in new threats. The misuse of the social media is now a weapon that terrorists across the world and anti-nationals are employing with greater sophistication. This also has to be combated adopting superior tactics and technology. As new challenges emerge, we would also need to upgrade our skills and technological capabilities," he said.
He exhorted the officials of IB and other police organisations that each one of them has to make their "contributions count".

"Let us all write the future 'India Story' together. I compliment the Intelligence Bureau for organising this lecture every year and contributing to the public discourse on important issues," he said and wished the agency good luck.