Arvind Kejriwal slams Delhi Police, refuses to budge on venue

NEW DELHI: Refusing to budge from his decision to convene a special assembly session at a stadium, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today rejected Lt Governor Najeeb Jung's call to revisit the decision and said paramilitary forces should be deployed at the venue if Delhi Police feels "incompetent" to provide security.

Kejriwal said it is the prime duty of the Delhi Police to ensure safety and questioned whether Police Commissioner B S Bassi should continue in his post if he cannot provide security.

"It is the prime duty of the Delhi Police to ensure the safety of the people and if the Police Commissioner considers himself incompetent in doing so, should he continue to be in his post?" said a press statement released by the Chief Minister's office.

Jung, in a letter to Kejriwal, has requested him not to hold the special session at Indira Gandhi stadium keeping in view the Delhi Police concern on maintaining law and order at the open venue.

The press release stated that in his reply to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, Chief Minister has expressed surprise over the stand of the Delhi Police.

"The CM has stated that it is surprising to note that the police is expressing its inability to provide protection to the ministers and MLAs and in such a scenario if police cannot provide security in one stadium how can it be expected to keep the entire city safe?," read the statement.

The release said that it was the decision of the Delhi cabinet to hold a special session of the assembly in the open on February 16 and in case the Delhi Police finds itself incompetent to provide security for it, then adequate paramilitary forces and other forces should be sought from the Central Government for this.