The Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal today had a customary meeting with PM Modi to discuss on topics ranging from the unprecedented violence in Delhi last week to the coronavirus pandemic reaching the National Capital. The AAP chief convened a media briefing to inform them about the salient points of his discussion with PM Modi.
However, what stood out in today’s media briefing was Arvind Kejriwal’s polite deference and admirable praise for the Delhi Police. Heaping praise on Delhi Police, Arvind Kejriwal stated that the police was outstanding in stemming the vile rumours that emanated in the city on Sunday.
“There were strong rumours flying high and wild in Delhi on this Sunday. There was an atmosphere of fear and panic across the National Capital. But the Delhi Police played an exceptional role in containing the panic. The Delhi Police officials got on the ground to dispel the rumours and made appeals to people to maintain calm and peace. It is commendable the way the police tried to stop the rumours in the city and avert a major untoward incident,” Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal’s approbatory remarks for Delhi Police underscores the profound transformational change in views of the Aam Aadmi Party chief with regards to the police. From referring a Delhi Police official with a pejorative term- ‘thulla’ in 2015, Kejriwal has come a long way in granting the well-deserving respect the officials of police, who put their lives on the line every single day.
In 2015, a brash Kejriwal had used a derogatory term ‘thulla’ for policemen to express his frustration over AAP government’s constraints in ensuring the effective functioning of the Anti-corruption branch. However, with 5 years of experience in politics, Kejriwal seems to have realised that mutual-respect and co-operation is the sine qua non for the smooth and efficient functioning of a state. It is this sobering realisation that has made Kejriwal tamp down his arrogance and acknowledge the difficulties faced by the police officials while discharging their duties.
Read: Kabhi thulla, kabhi family; Arvind Kejriwal now ‘respects’ the men in khakhi uniform
While Kejriwal has undergone a sea-change in his views about the Delhi Police under Modi government, leaders in his party have continued ridiculing the Delhi Police. Last week, AAP convener Mayur Panghaal made a derogatory remark against martyred IB sleuth Ankit Sharma who was killed by a murderous mob sheltered inside AAP corporator Tahir Hussain’s house. In a Facebook status update, referring to Sharma as a ‘thulla’, Panghaal said, “So a thulla called Ankit Sharma was found in the gutter today. Somehow I can’t feel sorry for any dead thulla so spare me the elegy.”
It is also notable to mention that AAP corporator Tahir Hussain, who is accused of enabling the murderous Muslim mob in unleashing their carnage against the Hindus in Chand Bagh, is currently on the lam, fleeing the Delhi Police. Tahir Hussain’s house in Moonga Nagar was used as a base by a violent Muslim mob to throw stones, bricks and petrol bombs on the Hindus in the region and to vandalise the Shiva temple situated across the street.
