New Delhi, May 15: Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde today said the control of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) would remain with the home ministry, putting to rest speculation on its tug-of-war with the defence ministry over control of paramilitary forces.

The home ministry also wants operational control of the Assam Rifles that guards the Indo-Myanmar border.

“ITBP will stay with the ministry of home affairs,” Shinde told reporters in reply to a question over reports of the army wanting to take operational control of at least two battalions of the paramilitary force in Ladakh where India and China accused each other of incursions.

The ITBP is responsible for guarding the 3,488km Sino-Indian border from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh. The army had apparently raised questions over its effectiveness during last month’s standoff between India and China in eastern Ladakh. Eventually, the crisis was resolved between Beijing and New Delhi but it exposed the turf war between the two big ministries at a time when the border was under threat.

According to sources in the home ministry, international conventions rule that borders may be guarded by police forces and not directly by the army although China’s border-guarding “police” is practically the People’s Liberation Army by another name.

Shinde’s statement is also an admission of the turf war between the two ministries from Jammu and Kashmir to the Northeast, where the army is in operational control of the Assam Rifles.

The home ministry has administrative control over it but wants to assume operational control over this oldest paramilitary force, which is commanded by army officers deputed to it.

“The Assam Rifles, which is 20-25km from the (1,643km Myanmar) border…we are saying that the control should be with us. Talks are going on but there is no final decision,” Shinde said.

The issue is now with National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, who chaired an “informal” meeting with defence and home officials today. It was decided that the home ministry would move a cabinet note again, this time from a northeastern perspective, The Telegraph has learnt.

During P. Chidambaram’s tenure as home minister, the ministry’s police division had moved a note listing reasons for the ministry to take administrative and operational control of Assam Rifles. The proposal was opposed tooth and nail by the army and thus by the defence ministry.

Former senior officials in the home ministry say the performance of 46 Assam Rifles battalion in the Northeast leaves a lot to be desired as militancy continues unabated.