New Delhi: Delhi’s law and order situation has emerged as the new bone of contention between the AAP government and Lieutenant Governor (L-G) V.K. Saxena with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal stating Wednesday that the latter has no concrete solutions to ensure the safety of the city’s public.
In Delhi, police and the matters of law and order come under the L-G. The AAP government and Centre-appointed L-G have been at loggerheads since the latter’s arrival last year, with political tussles ranging from the alleged excise scam to the latter allegedly bypassing the elected government over decisions that require its aid and advice.
Kejriwal’s letter is the latest in a series of written exchanges which he began Tuesday over the issue. The CM also shared his letters to Saxena on Twitter.
In his first letter, Kejriwal hit out at the L-G and the Ministry of Home Affairs, while pointing out four incidents of murder in the city within a span of 24 hours, and that despite the requirement of urgent preventive measures, “nothing has changed on ground”. He added that the Delhi government was ready to provide “all necessary cooperation to ensure rule of law” in the national capital.
The initial letter triggered a sharp response from the L-G who noted that “politicising crime has become a habit” and provides no solution even as it “does subject the victim and their family to avoidable agony, apart from encouraging crime. In this regard,…the issue of an unfortunate rape in 2012 raised by you to politically target the then chief minister will serve as an eye opener and conscience knocker for you.” ThePrint has seen a copy of the L-G’s letter.
Saxena said necessary steps were being taken while adding that he was reviewing and monitoring the Delhi Police on a regular basis through bi-weekly meetings with the commissioner, and weekly meetings with other senior officers.
Shooting back at the administrator, Kejriwal said Wednesday that the former’s response demonstrated a “lack of concrete solutions and a tendency to shift responsibility”. He added, “An alarming rise in serious crimes cannot be treated as business as usual, especially by a constitutional functionary, who is otherwise very active on matters which are outside his duty as defined by the Constitution of India.”
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‘Urge to steal credit’
On Delhi Police, the CM said that some police stations were under-staffed and that a fresh assessment was needed to understand the required number of police personnel in the city. He added that the L-G’s “urge to steal credit for the works of the elected government in a bid to please political masters” has affected his “primary work” of maintaining the city’s law and order.
“It took many months of protest by medal winning wrestlers and directions of the Supreme Court to even register an FIR in the case of sexual harassment. This reflected badly on the political masters of Delhi Police, certainly, affected the confidence of women in Delhi on its police. Delhi Police did not use force against medal winning wrestlers at Jantar Mantar on its own, nor did it suppress peaceful protests without political orders,” the letter read.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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