Former UP DGP, Ajit Jogi criticize Rajnath's remark on Maoists

Former Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh, K L Gupta, on Wednesday seemed to be not in tune with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's comment that police officials initiating action against Maoists should not worry about reactions from human rights bodies, saying it is easy to make remarks but the ground reality is very different.

"The Home Minister saying all this is a very easy way to boost the morale of the police but the situation at the ground level is different and to tackle such issues is not easy. If the police act according to what the Home Minister said, there will be no one to defend them when they will be charged for murder," said Gupta.

"The main issue that needs to be addressed is in the criminal justice system. Hearings and judgments should be faster and if required, more courts need to be added. The criminals should be punished within a year and those who are innocent let off," he added.

Senior Congress leader Ajit Jogi on his part said that dealing with Maoists in such a manner will result in the loss of many innocent lives.

"I do believe that we need to deal with the Maoists but I do not agree with the Home Minister that we need to erase them frenetically. Another danger related to this is that in those Maoist hit areas, there are also people living who do not believe in that ideology. Most of them are tribals and just by looking at them you cannot differentiate who is a Maoist and who is not. And if he has said this and if whatever he said is followed than a lot of innocent tribal will be killed in the process," he said.

Addressing the police personnel at the Rajasthan Police Academy earlier in the day, Rajnath said that he had given a free hand to the police personnel when he was the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and assured them that they would not be hassled by the human rights commission when tackling Maoists.

Rajnath, who was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from October 2000 to March 2002, revealed that he had then told the police officers that he would himself face the commission if the need arose.

"I remember when I was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, a huge region was reeling under the threat of Maoism and many officers had been killed. I asked all the senior police officers to accept this challenge," said Rajnath.

"The officers said that they were ready to face up against the Maoists but they faced challenges from other political leaders and the Human Rights Commission, which put them in the dock, asked all sorts of questions and harassed them. They said that they faced a huge problem because of that. I believed in them and told them that they shouldn't worry. If I have to face the Human Rights Commission, then I will face them as the Chief Minister of the state but won't let them face the commission," he added.