Capt roars; shuts voices of dissent in police
Sunday, 21/07/2019
https://www.brightpunjabexpress.com/index.php/2019/07/20/capt-roars-shuts-voices-of-dissent-in-police/
CHANDIGARH : Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh is known for his majestically gracious way of treating people whether they are his colleagues, his subordinates or even his bitter rivals and critics. At the same time he reposes unfailing faith in his officers to the extent that at times it is mistakenly concluded that he trusts his officers more than he trusts his political or ministerial colleagues. However, on Saturday, Capt Amarinder roared like a lion in his characteristic style, though he does it very rarely. Amidst reports that there was some discontent in the police establishment over ADGP Hardeep Sidhu’s reappointment as the Chief of the Special Task Force on drugs, he made it categorically clear that he cannot tolerate indiscipline and if anybody had any problems he could seek deputation to the centre. The Chief Minister tweeted in a most clear and categorical way, saying, “if anyone has a problem with Harpreet Sidhu’s re-posting as STF chief, they’re welcome to leave Punjab & seek Central deputation. I won’t tolerate indiscipline. In any case, it’s my prerogative to take whatever decision I deem fit to tackle the drug problem”. While speculations are rife as who could be the target of his angry outburst, the import of the message is not lost on anyone as who it can be. At the same time, it is also an unambiguous message to everyone in the police that they will have to cooperate with Sidhu as he leads the STF in the fight against drugs. By asserting his authority that it is his prerogative, the Chief Minister has also conveyed the message to those who, instead of raising the issue directly with him, have been trying to use the media for this purpose. In the process the credibility of the government gets hurt. It is believed that the Chief Minister was feeling concerned over the ground reports on the easy availability of drugs across the state. While in the beginning, particularly in the first year of his second term the supply chain of the drugs was broken, of late, it was widely reported that the synthetic drug, called ‘chitta’ was abundantly available across the state. The anti-drug campaign that had begun on a vigorous and aggressive note in 2017, had lost its punch and power by 2019. It is understood that the Chief Minister was not getting the proper feedback about the problem at the grassroots level. However, with the change of guard in the Police Headquarters after the retirement of the DG Suresh Arora, the Chief Minister reportedly got more clear picture about the situation on drug front on the ground level. Eventually he zeroed in on Harpreet Sidhu once again, despite knowing that he does not get along very well with the DGP Dinkar Gupta. While the STF has the exclusive mandate of finishing the pedaling, smuggling and supply of the drugs, it will have to do it in close cooperation with the local police as eventually it will be the local police stations and the SHOs who can provide crucial and important inputs. The role of the STF and the police will have to be complimentary and not supplementary to each other. While the coordination and cooperation at the highest level will be crucial, at the grassroots level it will be more important. With Chief Minister’s categorical support for Sidhu, the message is loud and clear that everyone will have to support the STF in its fight against drugs. And the CM’s message appears to have gone across all sections of the establishment irrespective of the prevailing preferences and prejudices.
