Kejriwal accuses LG of passing the buck, calls him an 'outsider'

New Delhi, June 21 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday replied to the letter of Lieutenant Governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena regarding Delhi's law and order situation and accused the LG of passing the buck instead of solving the problem.

Kejriwal also called the LG an outsider who knew nothing about the ground reality and had an urge to steal the credit for AAP's work.

In the letter, Kejriwal mentioned that the police lack manpower and were working at 35 per cent to 40 per cent of their sanctioned strength. Kejriwal also alleged that Delhi Police used force on wrestlers due to political pressure.

"LG Sir, I fail to understand your reluctance to admit that the law and order situation in Delhi needs to be urgently improved. A few weeks before Delhi hosts the G-20 summit, four murders have taken place in a single day in the national capital," Kejriwal's letter read.

Kejriwal wrote that it was easy to term an extremely serious issue directly concerning the safety of lives and properties of over two crore residents of Delhi as being "politicized," but the response of the LG didn't offer even a single effective step being considered by the political bosses of Delhi Police - the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi - to assure Delhiites that there is somebody to care for their safety.

Kejriwal said that the routine weekly meetings of the LG with the top brass of Delhi Police would remain a mere formality until something concrete is visible on the ground.

Kejriwal also called the LG an outsider who knew nothing about the ground reality.

"I am fully conscious of the fact that you are new to Delhi and being an outsider it is difficult to know about the ground reality. However, an alarming rise in serious crimes cannot be treated as business as usual by a constitutional functionary who is otherwise very active on matters that are outside his duty as defined by the Constitution of India," reads the letter.

Kejriwal accused the LG of not having time to seriously look into ensuring the safety and security as the LG was busy continuously creating impediments in their functioning, bypassing all constitutional principles and successive judgments of the Supreme Court.

"In response to my letter, you have referred to the heartrending 2012 gangrape and murder of Delhi's daughter, Nirbhaya. Since you may not be aware of the facts about Delhi, let me inform you that such was the public outrage which followed the horrible Nirbhaya incident that the then Central government was forced to overhaul criminal laws to provide an effective deterrent against crimes against women. I am not aware of whether the existing central government, which you represent, has the sensitivity to come up with any fresh deterrent against the spurt in serious crimes in Delhi," Kejriwal said.

He said that a few weeks before Delhi hosts the G-20 summit, four murders have taken place in a single day in the national capital. He questioned what kind of perception is being created when headlines were full of incidents of serious crime.

Kejriwal alleged that the Delhi Police was being used as a tool to serve the interests of its political masters.

"It took many months of protest by medal-winning wrestlers and the directions of the Supreme Court to even register the FIR in the case of sexual harassment. This reflected badly on the political masters of Delhi Police and certainly affected the confidence of women in Delhi in its police. Delhi Police did not use force against medal-winning wrestlers at Jantar Mantar on its own, nor does it suppress peaceful protests without political orders," his letter read.

He said that he had received reports that enough manpower was not available in the police stations. Some police stations were working at 35 per cent to 40 per cent of their sanctioned strength.

"How can we expect the SHOs to work at 35 per cent of their strength? How can they do effective patrolling of the entire area under their jurisdiction? It is my humble appeal to make a fresh assessment of the number of Delhi Police personnel required in Delhi, in proportion to its population. Also, efforts should be made to provide an adequate number of police personnel in the police stations. The solution lies in giving priority to the needs of Delhi Police, increasing its strength, and ensuring its engagement with the residents to make Delhi safe and secure," read his letter.