Situation in North-East Far from comfortable: PM

As violence in Manipur and Assam continued unabated, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said situation in the North-Eastern states was far from comfortable.

"The situation in the North-Eastern parts of our country is far from comfortable. In two of the states, Manipur and Assam, current levels of violence give us cause for concern," he told a conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of police organised by Intelligence Bureau.

The Prime Minister said extortion and intimidation have become a menace across most of the states in the region.

"It should be possible, I believe, to bring about a substantial improvement in the situation if there can be better security management," he said.

Asking the DGPs of the North-Eastern states to insist on and achieve higher levels of professionalism from the forces they command, the Prime Minister said "firm but compassionate handling of law and order matters, can certainly bring about substantial improvement in the prevailing state of affairs".