M A I N   N E W S

DGPs draw PC flak
Stop being mute spectators to political meddling, says minister
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 14
Lashing out at state governments, especially the DGPs, for their handling of the police force, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today regretted that officers have been reduced to a football, being kicked from one post to another. The states also drew flak from the Home Minister for their callous mindset towards security issues and unwillingness to revamp the police recruitment procedure.

“Police officers are being arbitrarily transferred, with Punjab and Uttar Pradesh being the most transfer-prone states,” he told mediapersons in the national capital on the first day of the three-day conference of state police chiefs.

Addressing the DGPs, the Home Minister shot some soul-searching questions at them. “I ask you to search your hearts and answer the question, what is the average length of tenures of a district superintendent of police, a station house officer? Why do you remain silent when arbitrary postings and transfers are made by the state government? Is it not your duty to raise your voice … for your officers but also on behalf of the people that you are duty bound to protect?”

Quoting a judge, Chidambaram said, “When there is a duty to speak, silence is culpable.” Sources said there was a pin-drop silence as the Home Minister lambasted the DGPs.

Stating that the state governments were ignoring security issues, the Home Minister said, “Throughout the last nine months, my effort has been to impress upon states, the security forces and the people at large that we can no longer do business as usual. I cannot claim great success in this regard,” he said.

“Old mindsets and habits persist. States are unwilling — or unable — to revamp their recruitment procedures and make them quick, time-bound and transparent,” the minister lamented.

The Centre and the states must share the blame for the past mistakes, Chidambaram said, adding that there was need to make up for the lost time. “The measures taken in the past to build capacity and raise the level of preparedness were long overdue and, in a sense, exposed the neglect and tardiness,” the Home Minister admitted.

The nation, he said must draw heavily upon technology and innovation to tackle the internal security threat. Unveiling his plans for the near future, Chidambaram said a high-tech National Counter Terrorism Centre will be created and the scale and role of Multi Agency Centre (MAC) will be enlarged. The mega city policing model also needs to be established. Terming the attacks on Mumbai as “a game-changer”, the minister said post 26/11, the challenge has become graver. “India’s security faces many threats from many sources. On terrorism, our stance is zero tolerance. We shall raise our level of preparedness to fight any terror threat or attack …. Our response will be swift and decisive,” he added.

Regarding cross-border terrorism, Chidamaram said it’s a matter of deep concern. Terrorist groups, including LeT and JeM, persist in their endeavour to launch attacks, he said.