The Delhi Assembly on July 29, passes a resolution asking the Ministry of Home Affairs to reverse the appointment of senior IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as the national capital's Police Commissioner.
The resolution was moved by AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha.
Speaking against the motion, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri noted that Mr. Asthana was conferred the Police Medal for meritorious service when Mr. Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister, and he was instrumental in cracking the fodder scam against the then Chief Minister of Bihar. "This House should be thankful to the MHA for Rakesh Asthana's appointment at Commissioner. Mr. Asthana's appointment is a jolt to crime and corruption in the Capital," he said.
Delhi Home Minister Satyender Jain took pot shots at Mr. Bidhuri's speech saying, in his praise for the new Commissioner, the LOP has highlighted the fact that the Commissioners before Mr. Asthana were useless. "This proves that the Centre has so far wanted to restrict good officers from the post of Police Commissioner," Mr. Jain added. He wondered why Mr. Asthana was not made the CBI Director if he had a year's tenure left.
Mr. Asthana, a Gujarat cadre officer, took charge as the Commissioner of Delhi Police on Wednesday. In an order issued on Tuesday, the Ministry of Home Affairs had said that Mr. Asthana, who was serving as the Director General of the Border Security Force, would join as the Delhi Police Commissioner with immediate effect.
His appointment came just days before his superannuation on July 31. He will have a tenure of one year.
This is one of the very few instances when an IPS officer outside of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre has been appointed as the Delhi police chief.
