Bharti, Birla public spat with Delhi cops gives wrong message

All know a politician is one who swings clout and can fix things, especially the wrong things, in a broken down system such as ours. If the politician happens to be a minister, he swings a clout beyond what the statute confers on him because of which people throng to him with petitions even to regularise the wrongs. That patronage brings the voters to him. And precisely that is also what keeps the others away from voting booths because of a sense of helplessness at that the system, sabotaged to meet the needs of the political class. However, in Delhi they decided to change a government hoping to change a system. That has triggered an explosion of expectations.[caption id=“attachment_1345387” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti. PTI[/caption] In such an atmosphere, when a police official almost wags his finger under the nose of a minister or two—in this case, Law Minister Somnath Bharti and Welfare Minister Rakhi Birla—in full view of the community they represent, strong, unhelpful messages are sent out. Their minister was stymied by a part of the establishment. In these instances, the ministers sought help of the law to correct a problem that the locals, and Bharti was one of the locals, had complained about. The way in which Bharti furiously but helplessly had to see the police officer drive away even as he was talking to him did not paint a pretty picture. To the locals, it reinforces the belief that the system is not for them. Fact is, the kind of things the duo wanted done, one that police enter, raid, and arrest people in suspected prostitution and drug racket, and another that they break down a door, is not uncommon requests from politicians holding offices. However, they do it by calling the officer over and having a quite word about it, not make a public issue. Sooner or later, it happens. Here the politicians were at the site and demanded instant action on the spot which was embarrassing to the policemen. There were television camera crews around, the locals had gathered in number because the minister was the MLA they had elected a month ago. Worse still, the police had come there reluctantly despite knowing who had called them. Though not answerable to Delhi state government, the policeman showed no tact and it betrays how low morale affects professionalism by infusing it with violence and disdain. Violence, physical or verbal, brings in a sense of false hubris. The telecasting of the incident means the Delhi Police have a lot to do to restore its lost image. People won’t see them as wanting to follow rules but as shying away from duty. Not having a search warrant is said to be a reason for the refusal but it is not always that the law-enforcers always go by the book. The panchas (eyewitnesses) in many a search and seizure happen to be the same set of people, as if on call for any police action. There may be instances of raids and documentation, including warrants, surfacing later. Police have a certain way. I asked a retired police officer of Maharashtra cadre who had held top positions to decode what he saw on television last night. The aggression of the station house officer probably stemmed from low morale because in Delhi, being under Union government’s tutelage, they were suddenly finding themselves called by the local politicians who were of the Aam Aadmi Party. Unlike other politicians of either the ruling or opposition ranks in any state, here were they were summoned to the site and told how to go about by Bharti. This was unexpected, and if conceded to, would lead to many more demands for AAP seems to have settled on a principle: to beat the system, you need to be vigilantes. This is rooted in a victimhood enforced by the waywardness of the state. Not only did Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal set up anti-graft helplines but had announced that now on, every citizen with a cell phone with a camera or recording facility was an anti-graft Inspector. It is, from officials’ perspective, is letting people loose on them. Last night, an AAP spokesperson said on a television they will walk the streets at nights and be vigilant. “This is how it would be” henceforth. Loss faith in a sabotaged system is the main cause for the emergence of the AAP and their formation of the government. Given their runner-up status, people would normally not have expected them to sit in the saddle but the lack of faith needed people like us to run a government for people like us. But if this turns to full-scale vigilantism, there is a crisis ahead. That can be seen as empowerment which was the supposed intent of the AAP government but it can also boost vigilantism backed by a state. Almost akin to the manner in which Shiv Sena cadres operate sometimes, CPM’s did, and Trinamool Congress’ do. That is a risk that has not been evaluated by a government in a hurry, however justified its anger at a broken down system.