Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday asked the Delhi police to extend full support to the Arvind Kejriwal government even as he reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's view that the states should be given every assistance rising above party lines in keeping with the spirit of ‘cooperative federalism’.
"I would like to remind you that a new government has been formed in Delhi. A new party has got the mandate and a new government is formed. I expect you to extend full cooperation to this newly-formed government so that it can pave the way for the city's development," Singh said at the 68th Raising Day parade of the Delhi police.
He emphasised that the states need to be developed so that the country may see all-round growth.
"We understand that unless states are developed, the country cannot progress... a state may be ruled by any party.
"Our prime minister has also said the same thing; we believe that all states should be provided complete support rising above party lines so that India can be made a world power through cooperative federalism," he said.
Appreciating the force's efforts for ensuring the safety of women in the national capital, he said that it was not just the people of Delhi, but even the prime minister who gets worried whenever there was a crime against any woman.
However, he reminded that more has to be done on this front.
"And I would also like to assure the new government that the Delhi police will extend all support for maintaining law and order in the city and will not let any anti-social elements disrupt the development work," he added.
The Home minister said that despite various challenges, the Delhi police is doing a good job. "Providing security to a diverse city such as Delhi is an extremely difficult task. Despite the challenges, the Delhi police's performance has been excellent," he said.
Meanwhile, talking about the recent attacks on churches, Singh said that the Delhi police Commissioner and other officials have taken strong action to prevent repeat of such incidents.
Different communities live here and small things become national news while anything bigger becomes international news, which hurts the Delhi police's image, he said, adding that the force should work proactively to maintain its image.
Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi had invited Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet for the event, but nobody from the newly sworn-in AAP government attended the function.
Both the Home minister and Bassi asked the media not to ‘read too much’ into the issue.
"One should not read too much into the issue; it is a matter of privilege. You have to see the tradition, earlier too, the cabinet did not attend this function. I am sure, he (Kejriwal) will attend Tuesday’s 'At Home' function," said Bassi.
Singh said that the people from the northeast region should not feel alienated in the national capital.
"We are pained when something happens to them anywhere in the country. I would like to say that if anybody practices discrimination against them, strict action would be taken," he said.
The Home minister advised the Delhi police to give protection to the poor people and said the force ‘should be sensitive to the right to livelihood of street vendors, rickshaw pullers and small traders and strive to win their blessings’.
He said that police should take ‘dua’ (blessings) from the poor and give ‘dawa’ (succour) by dealing strictly with criminal elements.
"If you give the 'dawa' for criminal elements, the general public will give you 'dua'," he said.
Stressing on the need for adopting modern technologies for effective policing in the 21st century, Singh said that the new procedure for issuing the Police Clearance Certificate was a step in that direction.
He said that the Delhi police should take the lead to realise the prime minister's dream of 'SMART Police' (S-Sensitive and Strict; M-Modern with Mobility; A-Alert and Accountable; R-Reliable and Responsive; T-Trained and Techno-savvy).
He also lauded the Delhi police's Himmat app, which was launched by him a couple of weeks ago, terming it an ‘effective application to provide security to women’ in the national capital.
Flagging women's safety as a major concern, he said that the Centre has asked all state governments to constitute investigative units on crimes against women.
On the security of minorities, the Home minister assured that the Centre and the Delhi police will extend full cooperation to ensure security of the minorities and their religious institutions.
Talking about the Special Investigation Team recently set up by the Centre to probe the 1984 riots cases, he said that he was confident that justice would now be done to the victims and their families.
The Home minister, who announced a grant of Rs 5 crore for the Delhi police Education Welfare Fund for the construction of a school building, earlier inspected the guard of honour and took the salute following the parade, which was commanded by a woman officer – Assistant Commissioner of Police Apurva Gupta.
"I am very happy that the parade was led by a woman officer. The parade was very good and if I want to grade it, I will give -- excellent," he said.
"Security of the cabinet as well as the chief minister is our responsibility. As per the position held by these dignitaries, adequate security arrangements are required to be made. (But) whenever we make security arrangements, we have to keep in mind the comfort and convenience of the secured person," said Bassi.
"If the protected person is not comfortable with certain systems, we try to reorganise them so that it does not hinder his or her day-to-day activities," he added when asked about Kejriwal's reluctance to accept security.
Asked as to how that would be done, Bassi pointed out that security issues are a matter of privilege and cannot be made public. "In case anything is considered an obstruction, we do the same thing in a different fashion so that it does not cause any hindrance to the protected person," he said.
"The chief minister assured me that the government will extend full cooperation to state police in ensuring the security of the citizens of Delhi. We also talked about women's security," he said.
Under Z-plus security cover, armed guards are posted at the protectee's residence and visitors have to pass through Door-Framed Metal Detector. Also, a pilot car followed by two escort cars carrying security personnel accompanies the protectee wherever he or she goes.
Image: Home Minister Rajnath Singh with Police Commissioner BS Bassi at the 68th Raising Day function of the Delhi police in New Delhi. Photograph: ANI/Twitter
