Vijayawada, Oct 21 (IANS): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said on Monday that the police have a key role to play in the development as it is the only force that works for 24 hours for the people's safety.
He was addressing a meeting at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium in Vijayawada to mark the Police Commemoration Day.
He stated that Andhra Pradesh police is a brand, and it has a history of suppressing factionalism, rowdyism and LWE.
Chandrababu Naidu said his government was committed to strengthening the police force by providing them with all the assistance and equipment.
Pointing out that various reforms have been introduced in the police system after 2014, the Chief Minister said that vehicles along with other necessary infrastructure have been provided as per their requirements.
"Ever since I took charge as the Chief Minister, I have focussed mainly on the police setup, and it is the basic responsibility of the government to provide the necessary equipment to the police. Now modern technology will be provided for the police and their equipment will also be upgraded," he added.
He mentioned that during the last four months, the government released Rs 100 crore for the police department. He announced allocation of Rs 20 crore every year for the welfare of the police personnel.
Asserting that the police force faces several challenges with an increase in cybercrime, he called for updating the technology to check this alarming trend.
Targeting the YSR Congress Party, he said the previous government misused the police for political vengeance.
"Certain forces are trying to destabilise the entire police system. I am assuring you all that the state government will firmly stand by you to deal with such situations firmly," Chandrababu Naidu said.
He said it was unfortunate that the previous government spent a whopping Rs 700 crore for survey stones but did not release Rs 10 crore for installing CCTV cameras.
The Chief Minister announced that the 6,100 constable posts that are lying vacant will be filled soon, and the police setup will also be provided with all kinds of technical facilities.
Paying rich tributes to those police personnel who sacrificed their lives, the Chief Minister said that Police Commemoration Day is observed every year on October 21 in admiration of the services of the forces.
Chief Secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad, Director General of Police Dwaraka Tirumala Rao and other officials were also present.