Pragya Parande
The hooliganist approach of the State Law Minister Somnath Bharti despite good counsel provided by a police officer took everyone by surprise. The Minister overtly supported by the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal left the right thinking people aghast with their arguments, language as well body language. The law does not permit a raid on a home with women without the presence of women police officer and a magisterial warrant. This will lead to chaos rather than rule of law.
Mamta Sharma, Chairman of National Commission for Women rightly stated that, “It is a serious matter and a case of clear-cut violation of women’s rights. A person, even if he is a Minister, cannot search anyone’s premises or force someone to undergo medical tests without a warrant.”
Think of a situation where someone who has some quarrel with a neighbouring family, complaining to police of sex racket and leading a mob to the accused by night, no matter how genuine this is or how rightful the ‘accused’ family is. In Delhi there are many Paying Guest rooms catering to young women and think of a group of young women who occupy one and by night a mob raids them with active police support. This will be a tool in the hands of mobs to settle personal disputes in the city of Delhi rather than taking a legal way. The safety of women will be drastically compromised to the extent that no woman would feel safe not only on the road but in her own home at midnight. Ex-CM Sheila Dikshit came under heavy criticism when she stated that women should avoid venturing out after 7-00PM, alone. Where are all the women groups who were shouting from their rooftops against the ex-CM while the present CM is causing a greater harm to their liberty?
The CM vehemently argued this irrational line accusing all the police force, without exception, of corruption and hand in glove with the drug mafia and sex racketeers. Such a reckless statement will surely demoralise the Police force and will cause loss of credibility of the Police force in the minds of public. The CM has to think twice before uttering such irresponsible words as there are many righteous and honest officers among the police. It is a direct insult to these honest officers which needs to be condemned by one and all.
To draw a analogy, it will be like accusing all NGOs of being corrupt, including the one run by CM Arvind Kejriwal- Kabir, as among the masses the image of the NGOs is that they are corrupt. How would CM respond to this? And this will apply to all the NGOs run by or associated with AAP members including the Magsaysay award winning new entrant Medha Patkar.
Delhi police is conducting regular courses for their personnel on Gender Sensitisation and the situation is changing fast which is being experienced by many while observing the police attitude towards women and crime against women. I think, the situation is ripe for the AAP Ministers and their cohorts to undergo the Gender Sensitisation. AAP Ministers need to understand that they are encroaching on the liberty of the women and defending their anti-women actions, shamelessly. In the case of Somnath Bharti, the Ugandan women were insulted and ill treated while the tests carried out were negative for drugs proving them innocent.
Women of Delhi supported this party and without the support of women they will be wiped out, they need to understand.
The CM is unable to contemplate that he has a different role now other than organising the dharnas and agitations in front of the public offices. He should realise that while he wants Delhi Police under his control, making a lofty claim that he would “set Delhi police right”, sounds fizzy.
The AAP government is run on the crutches of Congress party, which is using so-called Snoopgate scandal to harass Gujarat government. Congress was overwhelmingly perturbed with encroachment on a private life of a woman and here it is like encroaching on the whole women lot in Delhi. It is an irony that the same Congress party finds itself in the worst kind of situation where they are unable to speak out against the direct encroachment on freedom of women in the capital Delhi.Delhi women will have to assert early, right before they find themselves being exploited by this slapdash lot, who are in power now, knowingly or unknowingly, and tell AAP government that the women of Delhi will spare jhadu for sweeping them away!
(The writer is secretary of Chetna)
On January 28, 2014 Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party (aap) government completed one month in the office. The balance sheet of this period shows mostly lies. Here is a list of 30 lies of these 30 days:
1. During elections Kejriwal promised not to hold any post even if they win the election. But he held the post of CM. The very first day he breached the security rules followed by Metro Rail by allowing video recordings of his travel in the Metro.
2. Kejriwal promised not to take security, but on December 28 itself, the police force was put on alert to provide him security cover at Ramlila Maidan. On the pretext of a public oath taking ceremony, he blew up crores of the taxpayers’ hard earned money.
3. Kejriwal had taken the oath on his innocent children in full public view, covered by various TV channels, that his party would neither give support nor take support from any party to form the Government. He broke the sanctity of that oath to fulfill his greed for power.
4. Promised special Commando force for security of women and Fast Track Courts for quick hearings of crimes against women. Nothing happened.
5. Promised to pass Jan Lokpal Bill on December 29 in full public view, but in vain.
6. Promised to end VIP culture, but his own ministers took to commuting in expensive cars bearing VIP numbers.
7. Promised not to take Government accommodation, but selected a duplex ten bedroom bungalow at posh Bhagwan Das Road.
8. Despite being a protector of law and order the CM himself staged a protest in front of the Rail Bhawan and broke the law by breaching Section 144 to protect his law minister Somnath Bharti.
9. Promised free water to all Delhiites, but announced 667 liters water to only 3 per cent population.
10. Promised to waive inflated water, electricity bills, but nothing happened.
11. Promised to reign in water tanker mafia, but nothing was done till today.
12. Promised 50 per cent reduction in electricity bills of all households, but announced relief to only the families consuming upto 400 units. On Rs 1,400 crore subsidy for electricity also he misled the people, as it cannot be released till it is proposed in the budget and passed in the Assembly.
13. Promised Janata Darbar to address the problems of the public on one to one basis, but the idea was scrapped just after one day drama.
14. More than 1,000,00 complaints have been registered with CM Office. But forget the remedies, most of the complaints have not even been replied.
15. Promised to reign in the inflation, but nothing happened so far.
16. Promised strong measures to eradicate corruption, but nothing concrete, except some dramas of sting operation.
17. On November 14, 2010, Kejriwal himself released 300 pages chargesheet against Sheila Dikshit on commonwealth games corruption and they had lodged a police complaint also. But Kejriwal is now asking for evidences from Leader of Opposition Dr Harsh Vardhan.
18. Before forming the Government, the AAP gave ample time to Congress leaders to destroy the evidences of their rampant corruption. The OSD of a former minister was caught on camera destroying important files. No action was taken till today.
19. Self-proclaimed anarchist and autocrat Kejriwal restricted the entry of media into the secretariat thus curtailing the powers of the fourth pillar of democracy. This is the very media which gave its full support to AAP during the election.
20. Expressing utter displeasure over the state of night shelters Manish Sisodia ordered for installation of 45 porta-cabins within 48 hours, but the shelters never came up, and the winter is to end.
21. CM promised 15000 auto licenses to SC, ST class, but no action till now.
22. Despite Supreme Court orders, private schools are still having their own say with the student and parents. The government did nothing. It promised to establish 500 new schools, but no initiative so far.
23. Promised to improve the standard of government hospitals and make them better than private ones. But the hospitals are still in pitiable condition with no initiative on this front.
24. Promised to regularise 3 lakh contract employees, but no relief in sight. DTC staff and school teachers have started protests also.
25. Promised fair and free amount of ration, but adequate stock has not been made available to the ration shops.
26. The prices of cooking gas cylinders have gone up by Rs 220 per cylinder and for the first time CNG has become dearer by Rs. 4 and 50 paisa.
27. Kejriwal and his party took the stand to take every big issue of governance by public consensus. Today, the whole of Delhi is aghast and ashamed at the way Delhi’s Law Minister has behaved with the foreign lady students. Why isn’t the Government going to the public to seek their consensus on removing the Law Minister?
28. Slum dwellers were promised houses, but no action till date.
29. Farmers were to be provided seeds, fertilizers, water and electricity, etc. at highly subsidized rates and fair price to be given for their produce? No action.
30. When AAP MLA Vinod Binny rebelled against his own party, Kejriwal and his team members claimed they have no differences with Binny. Then why Binny was expelled.
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