Super cop turned politician, Dr Satyapal Singh is a big name among those who joined the BJP recently. He is a post-graduate in chemistry, has a MBA from Australia and a doctorate in Public Administration. Born on November 29, 1955 in Basauli village of Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh, he was a Maharashtra cadre IPS officer. Prior to being appointed Mumbai Police Commissioner, he was Maharashtra’s Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order). He also served as Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) in Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune’s Police Commissioner and Special Inspector General of Police of the Konkan range. He has also been on deputation to the CBI and received a special service medal for extraordinary work in Naxalite affected areas of Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. He received the President’s Police Medals for distinguished and meritorious services in 2004 and1996 respectively and the DG’s insignia in the same year.
Dr Satyapal Singh left the job of Mumbai Police Commissioner to strengthen the hands of Shri Narendra Modi, under whom, he feels, India is set to witness a revolution in thinking and action. He says the politics will remain a ‘dirty game’ unless the good people actively get involved in it. In an exclusive interview to Organiser Senior Correspondent Pramod Kumar the vivid Arya Samaji, Dr Satyapal Singh feels that Shri Narendra Modi has the vision to lead the nation to the path of progress and all patriotic people should support him. Excerpts:
What prompted you to quit the post of Mumbai Police chief and join a political party like the BJP?
As a police officer I had a very limited jurisdiction to serve the society in Mumbai. Though that too was a public service, my sphere of working has now expanded to the entire country. Undoubtedly I reached the top of my police career, I thought when a big change or a kind of revolution is taking place in the country I must contribute too. This revolution is set to change our ideas and opinions, how we should think and how we should act. Some people call politics a dirty game, which has no place for good people. I say the people who consider themselves good have no moral right to criticise the politics unless they themselves get involved in it. That is why I took this decision.
Who is hero of the change which you are calling a kind of revolution?
Undoubetedly, Shri Narendra Modi is the living light, engine and leader of this revolution.
What else attracted you towards the BJP?
The ideology of nationalism. Whether it is the objective of nation building, national security or fostering communal harmony, I believe the ideology of BJP matches with my ideology and thinking. I am an admirer of glorious ancient Indian culture and believe that the young generation must be educated about it.
Some people and parties have reservation to BJP’s core issues like Hindutva, Ram Mandir, Article 370, Common Civil Code, etc. What do you feel?
Everybody in the country has some political agenda. I believe today is the time when we should think with a broader perspective. All the parties committed to the nation should have a common minimum programme for the nation. Nothing can be supreme than the nation. Only then will India be a real superpower.
Having been a super cop, are you satisfied with the internal security of the country?
Certainly not. There are so many issues where more need to be done. Whether it is terrorism, naxalism or insurgency in north-east, we have not been consistent as a nation in our thinking, approach and response on how to deal with such kind of delicate and crucial issues.
The role of investigating agencies like ATS and National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been under serious doubts in certain cases. What do you think?
The investigating officers should always be guided by principles, fairness and impartiality and must be accountable to the law and not to the political parties in power. There has been some scope for suspicion in certain cases where the people were not sure about the integrity of the investigating agencies like the NIA, ATS or the State police.
You admit that there has been political interference in some cases?
Unless I come to know of any particular case, it is not fair on my part to comment. But general impression is that some political parties have been trying to influence the investigation process in certain cases. But it depends upon the investigating officer whether he comes under any pressure or works fairly. But at the same time we have many officers of proven integrity whom nobody can influence.
In the case of Sadhvi Pragya there are reports that she is behind the bars only because of the political pressure. What do you feel?
I have not handled that case. But whatever I heard, it could be possible because sometimes political parties try to gain some mileage out of such issues. At the same time, I feel, fault also lies with the investigating agencies. They should not give such kind of scope to anybody whether members of the public or the political parties that anybody starts suspicion about our integrity or professionalism.
In the investigation of some terror cases also there have been reports of political interference. What do you say?
Yes, somewhere it has happened. But as far as Maharashtra is concerned, I don’t think there was any political interference. Maybe sometimes our investigating officers stray on their path and have not been true to their profession.
Congress has coined a new world ‘Hindu Terror’. What do you feel?
I don’t believe in Hindu or Islamic terrorism. Terrorism is terrorism and crime is crime. We should not fall victim to this kind of terminology. Instead of always finding ways to get political mileage all political parties should come together to tackle the crucial issues in larger interest of the society.
Frequent paroles to Sanjay Datt too have created a controversy. Comment.
Perhaps our officers who submitted the reports in this case did not take into confidence their seniors and submitted the reports in hurried manner. That is why this controversy has surfaced.
Recently, the Jain community has been granted minority status by Congress-led UPA government. What do you say?
I am of the opinion that the status of majority and minority should go away from the country. Everyone is equal before the Constitution. Those who want to get some kinds of benefits in the name of minority do such things. But I do not advocate it at all.
Are you going to contest Lok Sabha election?
The party has to decide about that. I will do whatever the party decides for me.
‘Chai par Charcha’: Reaching directly to the heart
The ‘Chai Par Charcha’ (discussion over tea) campaign launched by Shri Narendra Modi on February 12has proved to be a big hit. The tea vendors even in villages are rallying with Shri Modi after interacting with him. The sales at their tea shops increased manifold. They feel proud that one time tea vendor is going to become Prime Minister of the country.
In Delhi, the programme was held at 48 locations where Shri Modi interacted with the people through video streaming. The logistics were provided by Citizen for Accountable Governance (CAG). Two LED television screens were put in place at each of the tea stalls connected through DTH services for transmitting Modi’s interaction with the people.
Through this campaign Shri Modi, who was sometime back ridiculed by some Congress leaders for being the tea vendor, has now connected with over 1,000 tea stalls across 300 cities of the country. He answered questions from the tea vendors from cities like Vadodara, Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi Gurgaon, Noida, Cuttack, Nasik, Lucknow, Udaipur, Ajmer, Patna etc. —V Shanmuganathan
The bigwigs with BJP now
p Gegong Apang, former Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh
p Bappi Lahiri, noted music director, Bollywood
p RK Singh, former Home Secretary
p RS Pandey, former Petroleum Secretary
p Hardeep Puri, retired diplomat who served as India’s permanent representative at the UN
p Sunil Shastri, son of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri
p Dharam Singh, former retired Railways official
p Rajesh Verma, former BSP MP
p Kaushal Kishore, Samajwadi Party leader
p Dharmendra Singh, grandson of socialist leader Raj Narain, who in 1977 defeated Indira Gandhi from Rae Bareli
p Smt Putul Singh, Independent MP from Banka (Bihar) and wife of Digvijay Singh, former Union minister and Samata Party leader
p Om Prakash Yadav, Independent MP from Siwan, Bihar
p O Landhoni Devi, wife of O Ibobi Singh, Congress CM of Manipur, along with three prominent leaders of Manipur—T Hangkhanpao (former Minister), Dr Naorem Binoykumar Singh (former general secretary of Samata Party Manipur) and Dr AK Manglemjao Singh (retd Associate Prof. from WK College).
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