BJP’s unease behind RK Singh’s recent outbursts

NEW DELHI: The outburst by former home secretary RK Singh, now a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, could be a result of the opposition party’s unease over an inquiry into the alleged stalking of a young woman by the Gujarat state security apparatus, Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told ET on Thursday.

Before joining the BJP, Singh had wanted a post-retirement posting, “possibly that of a governor”, Shinde said. The home minister did not rule out suing Singh for his comments against him.

“The BJP is extremely worried over the commission of inquiry set up by me into the Gujarat snooping case… This seems behind what Singh has said. He is now a BJP politician,” Shinde said, adding that he saw the allegations in light of the “BJP’s campaign” against him for also writing a letter to states on releasing minority youths wrongly implicated in terror cases.

The Cabinet last month approved a home ministry proposal to set up a commission of inquiry into the alleged surreptitious recording of the woman’s movements said to have been done at the behest of those in authority in Gujarat.

The BJP has termed both of Shinde’s moves as unconstitutional. Gujarat CM Narendra Modi is the BJP’s PM candidate in the general election that’s scheduled to be held in a few months.

The home minister also rejected Singh’s allegation earlier %this week that he had shielded a Dawood Ibrahim aide, who is one of the accused in the 2G spectrum case, from being questioned by the Delhi Police in the Indian Premier League spot-fixing scandal.

!“I enquired today morning from the records… The said businessman Singh is speaking about has nothing to do with the IPL spot-fixing investigations. The Delhi Police Commissioner has been asked to clarify the matter,” Shinde said.

Singh had also alleged that “chits” had been sent from the home minister’s home to then Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar, lobbying for postings such as station house officers and that Kumar had informed him of this while he was still in office.

“Is there any chit with Singh that I would have sent? RK Singh and Neeraj Kumar have been classmates,” Shinde pointed out. The home minister said Singh’s comments were “libelous”.

When asked if he would sue Singh for defamation, Shinde said, “I have not yet applied my mind fully to this issue. I cannot say yet.”

Shinde said he didn’t have much regard for Singh’s skills. “I have been saying earlier what sort of person Singh is. He is now not a former home secretary but a BJP politician,” Shinde said.

Referring to the opinion expressed by former home secretary GK Pillai against Singh’s statements in an ET report on Tuesday, Shinde said, “Mr Pillai, a respected bureaucrat, has rightly criticized Singh’s conduct.”