First of all, Kejriwal is not the first chief minister to demand this. His immediate predecessor Sheila Dikshit sparred in public with then Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar over accountability in the wake of the brutal Delhi gangrape of December 16, 2012.
Kumar, who put a stern face in face of all the criticism, refused to resign over the gangrape incident, maintaining that he was not a "quitter". He refused to apologise even after he lathicharged unarmed protesters in Delhi and used teargas and water cannons on them. "Maybe there were some lapses here and there. But by and large the situation warranted this kind of action," he told reporters, with a stiff face.
७ माघ, काठमाडौ । भारतीय राज्य दिल्लीका मुख्यमन्त्री ३ प्रहरी अधिकारीलाई निलम्बनको माग गर्दै धर्नामा छन् । यसरी कुनै पनि मुख्यमन्त्री केन्द्र सरकारको विरुद्धमा धर्नामै बसेको यो भारतमा पहिलो पटक हो ।
रेल भवनको बाहिरपट्टी धर्नामा बस्दै केजरीवालले महिलाको सुरक्षाको व्यवस्था कडा पार्ने मागका लागि यहाँ बसेको बताए । उनले कहिं बलात्कारका घट्ना घटे त्यही क्षेत्रका प्रहरी जिम्मेवार र जवाफदेही हुनु पर्ने माग गरे ।
मुख्यमन्त्री केजरीवालले १० दिनको तयारी गरेर धर्नामा आएको बताए । उनले केही संवैधानिक संकट उत्पन्न भए केन्द्र सरकार जिम्मेवार हुनु पर्नेबताए । केजरीवाल धर्नामा बसेको स्थलमा पार्टीका कार्यकर्ता, मिडिया र सुरक्षाकर्मीको जबरजस्त उपस्थिति छ ।
यसैबीच, दिल्लीका परिवहन मन्त्री सौरभ भारद्धाजलाई पक्राउ गरी केहीबेरपछि छाडेको छ । यस्तै, विधायक अखिलेस त्रिपाठी सहित केहि व्यक्ति प्रहरीको धरपकडमा घाइते भएका छन् ।
केजरीवाल नै धर्नामा बसेपछि भारतीय प्रधानमन्त्री मनमोहन सिंह र केन्द्रीय गृह मन्त्री सुशीलकुमार सिन्धेबीच २० मिनेट वार्ता भएको छ ।
केजरीवालको धर्नास्थलमा धारा १४४ लागू गरिएको छ भने ४ हजार प्रहरी सुरक्षाका लागि तैनाथ गरिएको छ । केजरीवालले राजपथमा देशभरका मानिसले भरिदिने र जनवरी २६ मा हुने गणतन्त्र दिवस समारोह पनि हुन नदिने चेतावनी दिएका छन् ।
सोमबार देखि धर्नामा बसेका केजरीवालले रात पनि सडकमा बिताएका छन्। बिहान बोल्दै उनले केजरीवालले केन्द्रिय गृहमन्त्री सुशिल कुमार सिन्देलाई पनि चैनसंग सुत्न नदिने चेतावनी दिएका छन् ।
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wants Delhi Police to be brought under the control of state government in Delhi. His ways and reasons for stepping up on the gas might be suspect, but let us analyse his demand per se and see how justified it is.
First of all, Kejriwal is not the first chief minister to demand this. His immediate predecessor Sheila Dikshit sparred in public with then Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar over accountability in the wake of the brutal Delhi gangrape of December 16, 2012.
Kumar, who put a stern face in face of all the criticism, refused to resign over the gangrape incident, maintaining that he was not a "quitter". He refused to apologise even after he lathicharged unarmed protesters in Delhi and used teargas and water cannons on them. "Maybe there were some lapses here and there. But by and large the situation warranted this kind of action," he told reporters, with a stiff face.
Dikshit made it clear that she could not be held responsible for actions of the police which was not under her government's control. In her missive to Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, Dikshit enclosed a letter of complaint written by sub-divisional magistrate Usha Chaturvedi to the district magistrate (East) that three senior police officers had prevented the video-recording of the victim's statement. Chaturvedi alleged the police officers wanted her to use a questionnaire they had prepared.
Kumar, who had become the hate figure in the entire incident, denied charges against the three senior police officers. Throughout the incident, the Union Home Ministry backed the police commissioner and Delhi Police.
Shinde disappeared from the scene when the entire country was engulfed in protests from all quarters and his junior in the ministry, RPN Singh, was pushed forward to firefight in media.
So, in the end, who was responsible for the crime and the way protests were mishandled?
In a bandobast like this, where the police force in a place does not report to its chief minister, what takes the chopping at the altar is accountability.
And in the decade-long Congress rule at the Centre, Shinde is not the only one in the Union Home Ministry to pull out a Houdini in crucial situations. Former home minister Shivraj Sartorial Patil is still remembered for his shervanis and bandgalas he changed four times every day. His other accomplishments of consequence are yet to be found out.
Over the past two decades, several Delhi Chief Ministers have expressed annoyance as well as helplessness, appealing to the MHA that the police should be brought under the state government's control.
The only logical argument for not doing so concerns the security of the functionaries and institutions of Central government located mainly in New Delhi district. But this part can be taken care of by a Presidential notification which allows Central government to delegate its powers and yet retain control.
Three major functions of Delhi Police, like public order, crime and investigation, can be placed under the Delhi government. Everything else can still be under MHA.
But solutions in tricky situations overlook political aspects. In fact, at times they can turn out to be counter-productive.
Ending this problem once and for all may not be in the UPA's best interests. Or maybe, this one-of-its-kind bandobast might be playing on the Congress's mind while extending outside support to Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi.
The advantages of this kind of police arrangement, as reflected on earlier occasions also, are many. It can help the Centre cripple the state government without besmirching itself.
With an AAP minister in Somnath Bharti who confused Batman's role with his own and started his night errands to cleanse the city of its dark underbelly, the Congress just got the opportunity it was waiting for. The standoff can help the party bring down the newest entrant in politics from the high podium of morality he has perched himself on.
