THE Aam Aadmi Party dharna in Delhi is over and life in the national capital returned to normal swiftly. Indeed, the idea of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Cabinet leading the protest was as novel as it was controversial. The climbdown is welcome since there were no winners in this brinkmanship.
The CM wanted certain officers suspended because they did not carry out a raid on an alleged drug and prostitution racket in South Delhi. This is something his counterparts could have done in the blink of an eye. But given Delhi's special status, the police reports to the Union Home Minister rather than the CM. Ultimately, two policemen were sent on leave. At the core is an old issue. The Chief Minister also wants that the Delhi Police be brought under the state government. Kejriwal is not the first Delhi Chief Minister to demand that the police be answerable to him. During her 15-year tenure, his predecessor Sheila Dikshit too had a few run-ins with the police and had made a similar demand. Much of the criticism about the AAP protest is not about the issue, but the manner in which the CM came out in the streets.
The people of Delhi have reposed their faith in Kejriwal. They expect his government to deliver on its election promises, to govern effectively and sort out the many problems they face. Confrontations, agitations and brinkmanship are not the way to do that. In a democracy, good governance depends on following due process and ensuring the cooperation of various agencies of the state. On its part, the Centre, too, will have to work out a system in which both the state and Central governments have a role in handling the police, as is done in various national capitals in many parts of the world. The lack of a federal police force in India has led to some peculiar situations. Perhaps it is time to think of such a force and how it would interact with its counterparts in various states.
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