The central fact is in danger of being overlooked — the police force of Delhi has been repeatedly negligent about the personal security of the chief minister.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been attacked yet again, this time on the campaign trail in Moti Nagar. The Delhi Police have been notable in their failure to protect him from various assaults in the past, and are living up to their reputation. In fact, they may even have surpassed themselves by initially identifying the attacker as an AAP supporter. His family, reportedly, has described him as a scrap dealer with no party affiliations, apparently incensed about poll promises not being kept, and about Kejriwal speaking against the prime minister. The AAP has referred to the attack as “Opposition-sponsored” (its Opposition in the Assembly).
Amid the allegations, the central fact is in danger of being overlooked — the police force of Delhi has been repeatedly negligent about the personal security of the chief minister. His car was attacked recently and in November, a man threw chilli powder at him outside his office in the Delhi Secretariat. Kejriwal was unhurt, but his spectacles were broken in the ensuing commotion. The inauguration ceremony of Delhi’s Signature Bridge was not without incident, either, with the AAP alleging that water bottles were thrown at him. In 2016, at a ceremony to mark the odd-even anti-pollution scheme, a woman had thrown a bottle of ink at him before she could be restrained. And a shoe was thrown at him the same year. Earlier, in 2014, Kejriwal had been slapped by a rickshaw-driver. These incidents have one thing in common: The incompetent police response, which has indicated that it may be unable to pre-empt a more serious attack.
The AAP’s central election issue is full statehood for Delhi, which would make the police directly answerable to the state government. The success of the attacks on Kejriwal, and the bungling in their wake, would appear to illustrate the very argument that the party makes for full statehood. If the police cannot protect the person of the chief executive of the state, it cannot offer sufficient security to the common people. The country is in the midst of an election which, like others in the last two decades, has seen little violence. In that backdrop, the recurring failure to protect Kejriwal from being physically targeted in the nation’s capital shows its police force in especially poor light. There must be urgent and visible accountability, the trust of citizens in the police force is at stake.
