The appointment of Rakesh Asthana as new Delhi Police chief is brazen overreach by Centre / Modi and Shah are out to destroy our institutions

NB: My only caveat to these two excellent comments is that the Modi government is an RSS government, and executive actions such as this exemplify the programmatic intentions of a cabal conspiring in broad daylight. DS

Meeran Chadha Borwankar: Why appointment of Rakesh Asthana as new Delhi Police chief is brazen overreach by Centre During various national and state-level conferences, we as police officers have discussed the Supreme Court-mandated police reforms of 2006. We have talked of the damage that politicians have done to civil services, including to the police, by encouraging a crony culture. We have welcomed the Court’s directions about the formation of Establishment Boards in the states and the involvement of the UPSC in selecting state police chiefs. We have also welcomed “fixed tenures” for officers who are otherwise at the mercy of local political leaders for postings, transfers and continuation.

And yet we, the retired and in-service police officers, are quiet today. The central government has shown scant respect to either the Supreme Court or to the police as an institution. In one stroke, through the recent posting of the Delhi police chief, the politicians have displayed the ruthless power with which they control civil services. The message of them being the “masters” is loud and clear…

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/why-appointment-of-rakesh-asthana-as-new-delhi-police-chief-is-brazen-overreach-by-centre-7430946/

Julio Ribeiro: Asthana’s new job shows how Modi and Shah are out to destroy our institutions

Narendra Modi and Amit Shah together wear the same, well-fitting hat. That is fortunate. If each had worn a different hat, there would be too many rabbits hopping around, many more than even their alert subjects could catch.

The latest surprise may not have the stamp of ingenuity now associated with the duo. But it has caused a sizeable flutter in the dovecots all the same. My own view is that it will only affirm the duo’s intention of destabilising age-old rules in the institution of policing where state police cadres were separated, acknowledged and respected, except in very unusual circumstances….

https://scroll.in/article/1001590/julio-ribeiro-rakesh-asthanas-new-job-shows-how-modi-and-shah-are-out-to-destroy-our-institutions

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Vanzara

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