Bengaluru (IANS) | In an apparent dig at former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s statements supporting saffronisation of the police force and ethical policing, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said on Wednesday that his government would not allow anyone to take law into their hands. Speaking to reporters at Vidhan Souda here, Shivkumar said, the former Chief Minister had said that why not saffronisation? Why not ethical policing? But we will not allow anyone to take law into their hands.
Shivakumar elaborated that no one should take law into their hands, be it a Congress worker or a worker of any other political party. The law should be protected by the police. As I said yesterday (in the meeting of police officers), at three-four places the entire staff of the police department, instead of uniform, posed for pictures and dressed in clothes representing a political agenda. The constitution does not say so, and it is not in line with the law either. Police department has a great image in Karnataka.
However, he refused to comment on a statement by former Home Minister Araga Janendra that he has started dominating police officers. He said, people have given a befitting reply to Araga Janendra and his government in the elections. I don’t have time to reply to his statements.
The Deputy Chief Minister reminded that Priyank Kharge, a senior cabinet minister in the party, was summoned when he raised the issue of corruption. Shivkumar said, how many people have been summoned? Why not others? Was he targeted because he is a Dalit? Is he a Congress MLA? Police has to act according to law, country comes first.
Shivakumar on Tuesday slammed Karnataka police officers and questioned them for trying to saffronise the state police department. He insisted, are you preparing to saffronize the police department? We will not allow this under our government.
We know how police officers in Mangaluru, Bijapur (Vijayapura), Bagalkot came to police stations wearing saffron shawls and insulted the department, he said. Shivakumar taunted the police officers and said, “You should have come to this meeting wearing a saffron shawl.”
He said that if he wanted to be patriotic, he should have come to work wearing the national flag. The Deputy Chief Minister reiterated, we will not allow the police department to be saffronised.
Imagine to what level the police department would have stooped if an ADGP rank officer was involved in forging OMR sheets in the PSI recruitment scam, Shivakumar asked.
His statements evoked sharp reactions from Bommai and Gyanendra.
–IANS
