Ambedkar castigates `communal’ police

Talking to reporters late this evening, Ambedkar steadfastly turned down suggestions that the State Government was using the police force to strike at Dalits. “It is not a police force but a politicised communal force and the government has no control over it.”

`’That is one of the reasons we are demanding dismissal of the government,” he said.He hinted that during the police action at Ramabai Nagar in Mumbai, after desecration of the statue, police officers belonging to different groups acted differently. “Let the government come out with the names and backgrounds of the officers who did not follow DCP Choudhary’s orders that day and everything will become clear,” he said. “For several years, I have been saying that the police force has become totally politicised and communalised. This became apparent in the riots following the Babri demolition. The entire force needs to be re-oriented,” Ambedkar suggested.He was also very sure that the desecration was “an engineered and a pre-planned act.” He left it to the government to find out who was involved in hatching the plot.

He said, “We want the case to be handled in three parts. One, an investigation into who desecrated the statue, two, an enquiry into the firing in which 10 people were killed, and three, an enquiry into the conspiracy angle.” A judicial probe would be acceptable for the last part of the case, but the first two should be handed over to the CBI. “I have spoken to Home Minister Indrajit Gupta who said, the CBI would take up the enquiry if the State Government were to so recommend.”

On Chief Minister Manohar Joshi’s statement in the Assembly accusing Leader of Opposition Chhagan Bhujbal, the RPI leader asked, “Why does he not arrest Bhujbal then?” He lamented that after all incidents of desecration since the alliance government took over, Joshi has made such statements only before the Legislature but none of them have been translated into action.

“It shows that the government is scared,” he said, using a Hindi expletive to express himself.

Commenting on Chief Minister Joshi’s proposal to draw guidelines for erection of statues in public places, he said, “Perhaps the CM is ignorant that such rules already exist. In fact, after the alliance government took over these rules are being implemented more strictly.”

“But any move in this direction will be successful only after a consensus is reached among all political parties and they are able to take their workers and followers into confidence,” he added.