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Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday demanded a financial assistance of Rs 300 crore from the Centre to modernise the state police to meet any challenge posed by terrorism.

Raising the matter at a meeting of chief ministers on internal security in New Delhi [Images], he said the Mumbai [Images] terror carnage had underlined the need to strengthen local security apparatus.

Badal demanded Rs 300 crore from the Centre to modernise the state police force and make it efficient to effectively combat the terror menace.

The chief minister said if the state police were better equipped and trained, there was no need to fly commandos to tackle any terror strike.

The Centre needed to make substantial investments in strengthening state police forces, he said, adding that till now its role had been below expectation.

The intelligence network should also be fine-tuned to deal with the scourge of cross-border terrorism, he said.

Emphasising the need for modernising and strengthening of the Punjab Police, Badal said 'geographically, we are close to terror exporting countries'.

"The drug mafia and those dealing in illegal trafficking of arms and ammunition have created an atmosphere of unrest and insurgency in the state," he said.

The chief minister said left-wing extremism, which was on the rise, was also posing a threat to internal security.