Delhi gang rape: Sushilkumar Shinde equates agitators with Maoists?
NEW DELHI: Facing criticism for mishandling the public anger over the gang-rape in the Capital, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday appeared to have complicated matters for himself and the government by insisting that he was not obligated to walk up to protesters at India Gate, be it political activists or the Maoists.
In an interview with a TV channel, Shinde appeared to be upset with the protests despite a midnight meeting with no less than Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
Significantly, unlike Delhi lieutenant governor Tejinder Khanna, he did not rule out the possibility of Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar being removed, and instead suggested that the issue would remain open until the government had calmly reviewed all aspects.
"I don't want to comment on commissioner of police. I would not spare anyone and look into the role of those responsible," the home ministersaid just hours after he was learnt to have fended off Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit's demand to shift Kumar.
While emphasizing that he had met the activists both at home and his office, the minister said, "It is very easy to say that home minister should go to India Gate and talk. Tomorrow, if any other parties engage in demonstration, why shouldn't the home minister go there, why only with this? You answer me, tomorrow if Congress party people will demonstrate or tomorrow BJP will demonstrate. Tomorrow, Maoists will come here and demonstrate, why should the home minister go there?"
Asked whether it was right to compare the protesters with Maoists, he said, "You don't separate law and order. I had already, right from day one, met them in my house, I met them in my office and I met their representatives. They should have been satisfied, but after chanting 'we want justice, we want justice', what kind of justice are you expecting? Either you only give justice. There are some limits. We accepted all the demands."
He emphasized that the Congress chief had agreed to meet them at midnight. "A person like Sonia Gandhi met the delegation of the students at midnight. They should have responded to that. Why did they take the law into their hands the very next day," he said.
Pressed further as why Sonia, PM Manmohan Singh or Rahul Gandhi couldn't come and meet these protestors, Shinde said, "I told you that if we come once, they will expect us to come every time."
Although quite clearly a part of the political outreach, Shinde's remarks may not help ease Congress's worry that the government could have dealt with the situation better. Though he merely restated the position that governments have followed over the years, his choice of words runs the risk of reinforcing the perception of an arrogant government which was increasingly removed from the public sentiment.
The home minister, however, maintained that certain "political elements" were behind Sunday's violence at India Gate and its surrounding areas during the protests against the gang-rape. Defending the crackdown on protestors, Shinde said on Saturday, the protestors went up to North Block and even tried to break into Rashtrapati Bhavan.
"Rashtrapati Bhavan is a prestigious house of the country and it is the image of the country. If they would have gone there, you would have criticized me. That is why we are very strict on this thing," he said, adding that hooliganism also led to the police action.
On the continuation of the Delhi police chief, he said, "Once the situation is calm and quiet, I will look into it. Certainly, I will take action and I will not spare anyone (found to be guilty)," he said.
He said the Centre was convening a meeting of chief secretaries and directors general of police of all states on January 4 to take stock of crimes against women, particularly rape.