Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs on Wednesday asked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to exclude Delhi Police personnel from the government policy that gives ₹1 crore compensation to the families of martyrs.
Several AAP MLAs signed the letter to the Chief Minister on a day he was in Haryana to hand over a ₹1 crore cheque to the family of Border Security Force jawan Narendra Singh, who was killed along the Pakistan border earlier this year.
The MLAs said that since the Delhi Police had failed to protect the Chief Minister, who has been attacked four times in two years, they should not be a part of the AAP government’s policy. The latest of the attacks happened on Tuesday, when a man lunged at Mr. Kejriwal and tried to smear red chilli powder on his face as he walked out of his office in the Delhi Secretariat.
In a tweet, AAP spokesperson and one of the MLAs, who signed the letter, Saurabh Bharadwaj, said: “AAP MLAs have demanded Delhi Govt to exclude Delhi Police from the list of departments who are rewarded with 1 crore. BJP treats Delhi Police like tissue paper, their MP Manoj Tiwari ridicules & slaps their officers. Let BJP take care of Delhi Police, they deserve each other. [sic].”
Compensation policy
The government’s policy provides for ₹1 crore compensation to families of military, paramilitary and Delhi Police personnel who are killed on duty. The policy covers martyrs who are residents of Delhi as well as personnel killed in operations in Delhi.
Speaking in Sonipat, Mr. Kejriwal said Narendra Singh’s case was not “fitting” in the government policy, which was changed by the Cabinet in July to include those paramilitary martyrs whose permanent address was recorded in Delhi when they joined service.
‘Welfare measure’
Delhi Police Additional PRO Anil Mittal said: “It [compensation policy] is a welfare measure for police personnel who lose their lives in the line of duty. The grant of ₹1 crore was a decision taken by the Delhi government. Beyond that, we have no comments to offer.”
Published - November 22, 2018 02:15 am IST
