'Those responsible for ensuring safety in Delhi': CM Kejriwal to LG Saxena

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena over the surge in criminal activities in the national capital. In his letter, Kejriwal asserted that those responsible for ensuring the safety of people have no "concrete solution" and are "merely passing the buck". The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief proposed a cabinet meeting with Saxena to discuss the "alarming" increase in crime in the union territory. Kejriwal wrote to Saxena on Tuesday, emphasizing the urgency of addressing this pressing issue.

In his reply to the letter, Saxena welcomed Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues for a discussion, cautioning him against “politicising crime”, saying that it provides no solution at all.  To which Kejriwal said, “In the normal course, I would have not decided to write back again, but the contents of your response has left me with no option but to let the people of Delhi know that those directly responsible for ensuring the safety and security of their lives have no concrete solution, and are merely passing the buck.” 

'Extremely serious situation'

He also said that it was easy to term “an extremely serious situation, directly concerning the safety of lives and properties of over two crore residents of Delhi as being politicised”, but the LT Governor’s response “did not offer even a single effective steps being considered by political bosses of Delhi Police – Ministry of Home Affairs and Hon’ble Lt Governor of Delhi”. 

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.

'You are new to Delhi and being an outsider...'

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

“The urge to steal credit for the works of the elected government in a bid to please political masters has badly affected your constitutionally mandated primary work, which is to maintain law and order in Delhi. By continuously creating impediments in the functioning of the elected government, bypassing all Constitutional principles and successive judgments of the Honble Supreme Court, it appears you do not get time to have a serious look at ensuring the safety and security of residents of Delhi,” he added.

I fail to understand your reluctance to admit

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.

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.

Political masters of Delhi Police affected confidence of women

"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.