PTI    

NEW DELHI, Nov 23: Voicing concern over the "new danger" posed by the spread of fundamentalist and extremist ideas, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday  said the "virus" of communal violence should be checked in time.

"....we need to guard against the new danger posed by the spread of fundamentalist and extremist ideas. We have, of late, been witnessing the emergence of such pernicious tendencies and trends, and there are elements in our society who are actively pursing such programmes," Singh said.

The Prime Minister was addressing the annual conference of Directors and Inspectors General of Police here on the concluding day of two-day meet.

Singh also suggested setting up of a task force to initiate a 100-day plan to address "emerging challenges" in the areas of terrorism, Naxalism and insurgency.

Describing communal violence as a virus that threatens the secular fabric of the country, he said it needed to be checked in time, "otherwise our multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-caste society could well unravel."

Noting that the police have a critical role to play, he said "whatever the circumstances, the police must not remain passive spectators when deliberate efforts are made by communal elements and others to disturb the peace".

While asking the police to create an image as "a fair and impartial entity", he said a major challenge before them will be to restore the faith of the people - especially those belonging to religious and ethnic minorities and weaker sections - in their impartiality and effectiveness.

"Today, aspersions are being made regarding police impartiality and capabilities.... This is so even when policemen die in the line of duty," he said in an apparent reference to the recent Batla House encounter here.

With the "globalisation" of terror, the Prime Minister cautioned that the scale of terrorist incidents could only grow in the future.

The Prime Minister said in the realm of security, globalisation has produced a whole new range of interactive threats and risks. "Globalisation has also led to a blurring of the distinction between external and internal threats," he said.

While noting that "time is not on our side", Singh said the country cannot afford a repetition of the kind of terrorist attacks that have recently taken place in Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat, Guwahati and some other urban centres.

He said every time a terrorist attack took place there was a public outcry over the failure of the government, accompanied by criticism of police and intelligence agencies.

"I am aware that many terrorist attacks have been prevented, thanks to the vigil of the police and intelligence agencies, but a single incident of reasonable magnitude causes repercussions, and calls into question the capability and the capacity of the Government and its various agencies," he said.