Home Minister Amit Shah to hold key internal security meet; NSA Doval, Home Secy to attend

As India begins to 'unlock' in the fifth phase of the COVID-19 lockdown, Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday is chairing an important meet on internal security. Sources said that Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and other top officials will attend the meeting. India has also recently also witnessed two large scale natural calamities amid the Coronavirus pandemic - Cyclone Amphan, Cyclone Nisarga - with the Home Ministry leading the central response in aiding the state governments.

The internal security meet is crucial as India will be reopening after almost two months of Coronavirus lockdown. In Kashmir, the security forces have in recent times given Pak-based terror a beating, even as political leaders like Farooq and Omar Abdullah and others like Shah Faesal who were earlier put under house arrest have been released. Meanwhile, two more chargesheets are to be filed against the instigators of the Delhi riots that happened in February this year. Electorally, Bihar is scheduled to go to polls later this year even as Covid pandemic has posed a challenge on the electoral procedures. 

This meet also comes a day after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued a memo stating that certain categories of foreign officials have been permitted to come into India. These categories included foreign businessmen on business via, foreign healthcare officials, foreign engineering specialists and foreign technical specialists on invitation from an Indian business entity. However, the government is yet to commence international passenger flights to and from India. MHA has issued a detailed guideline on its plan of phased reopening and has allowed transport services to resume. Currently, India's Coronavirus tally is 216,919, while 6,075 deaths have been reported, more than 1 lakh people have been cured.

READ | Coronavirus Live Updates

Meanwhile, the Home Minister is also set to sound the poll bugle in Bihar next week with a 'virtual rally'. The assembly polls in the state are scheduled in October - November. He will also address the people of West Bengal apprising them of the achievements of the Narendra Modi government in its first year of the second term and steps were taken by the Centre to deal with the crisis caused due to the COVID pandemic and Cyclone Amphan. 

READ | Amit Shah dials all State CMs to discuss post-lockdown strategy as May 31 deadline nears

Amit Shah on Republic TV

As India gears to reopen the nation after two months of Coronavirus lockdown, Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Republic Media Network Editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami. Shah spoke on a number of topics ranging from the Modi 2.0 government's one year, the brutal Palghar mob-lynching of two Sadhus, India's ongoing battle with Coronavirus and the political chaos in West Bengal and Maharashtra. He also spoke on the crucial Indo-China standoff and the future of the Indian economy.

READ | Amit Shah's interview with Arnab Goswami: On COVID, Mamata, CAA, Maharashtra, China & more

READ | MHA relaxes visa regulations for foreign businessmen as India opens up post-lockdown