Reciprocating to the Aam Aadmi Party government's ‘efforts’ to maintain cordial relations with the Centre, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday asked Delhi Police to extend full support to it.
“A new government under a new party has been formed in Delhi. I expect you (Delhi Police) to extend full cooperation to this newly-formed government so that it can pave the way for the city’s development,” he said on the occasion of the force’s 68th Raising Day Parade here.
The development holds significance in the context of Chief Minister getting into confrontation with the Centre, including his dharna outside Rail Bhawan over Delhi Police, during his previous stint at the helm of Delhi Government.
However, the Kejriwal government in its new avatar has been displaying signs of reconciliation as the CM and deputy CM met Prime Minister and Union Ministers including Mr. Rajnath Singh seeking co-operation on a host of issues even before they were sworn-in. Mr. Singh’s statement could be viewed as reciprocal gesture.
Mr. Singh, during his address at the event attended by senior police officers, adopted a similar stance as Prime Minister Narendra Modi who often speaks about the need to rise above political allegiance in maintaining Centre-State relationships.
“Our Prime Minister has also said the same thing; we believe that all States should be provided complete support rising above party lines so that India can be made a world power through cooperative federalism,” he said adding that the country’s growth depended on the development of each and every State.
Since AAP’s electoral victory, which also saw the BJP being relegated to just three seats, there has been a series of positive statements made by both sides.
Full Statehood for Delhi, which would also mean a control over the city’s police, is one of the many demands made by the new State government.
During their earlier meeting with Mr. Singh, the AAP leaders raised the issue and both sides have stressed on “constructive cooperation” and “cooperative federalism.”
The early days of AAP's second tenure in Delhi has been in contrast with the last time when Mr. Kejriwal had staged a dharna demanding the control of Delhi Police. Back then, the Chief Minister and his entire Cabinet protested over their demand of action against a few police officers.
During his address Mr. Singh also had assuring words for the minorities in the Capital as he said that the Centre and Delhi Police would extend full cooperation to ensure their security and the safety of their institutions.
He made a specific mention of the Special Investigation Team set up by the Centre to probe the 1984 riots cases.
