Chidambaram proposes bifurcation of home ministry

NEW DELHI - Home Minister P. Chidambaram Wednesday mooted the idea of bifurcating the ministry, considering its numerous functions, and said a division was inevitable.

I am clear in my mind that because of the challenges which we have to face in five to 10 years, the home minister’s energies must be devoted to internal security and related matters, he said while delivering the 22nd Intelligence Bureau Centenary Endowment lecture here.

Chidambaram said the structure of the ministry was such that it handled a wide portfolio of subjects ranging from freedom fighters to forensic science.

Is this a functional arrangement to deal with the grave challenges to internal security that we face and that we will face from many more years? I am afraid not, he said.

It is true that the words ‘Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) have an authoritative ring, but the MHA now performs a number of functions that have no direct relation to internal security.

He lamented that the ministry had a division dealing with freedom fighters but did not have even a desk for dealing exclusively with forensic science.

The home minister pointed out there were other divisions or desks that dealt with centre-state relations, state legislation, human rights, union territories, disaster management and census — that were not relevant to internal security.

However, internal security is an equally, if not more, important function that deserves the highest attention. In my view, given the imperatives and the challenges of the times, a division of the current functions of the ministry of home affairs is unavoidable, he stressed.

Subjects not directly related to internal security should be dealt with by a separate ministry or should be brought under a separate department in the MHA and dealt with by a minister, more or less independently, without referring every issue to the home minister.