Congress and Nationalist Congress Party have slammed the Shinde Fadnavis government over its move to appoint a senior IPS officer Deven Bharti, who is of the additional general of police rank, as the special police commissioner, Greater Mumbai.
The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief spokesman Atul Londhe has accused the Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the home department, of establishing his parallel administration by appointing Bharti as special police commissioner. By setting up a parallel system, work is being done to defraud Maharashtra, he alleged.
‘’Devendra Fadnavis, who held the post of Chief Minister of the state for five years, was not interested in holding the post of Deputy Chief Minister in the Eknath Shinde government. As soon as he came to power, he immediately created two separate war rooms to equalize the status of Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister. Now the work of dividing the police department which is a disciplined force has also started. Since the Commissioner of Police of Mumbai cannot be changed or there will be some difficulties, the post of Special Commissioner of Police has been created and Deven Bharti has been appointed to the post,’’ claimed Londhe.
‘’Due to this appointment, a message has been sent that the Police Commissioner is CM's and the Special Commissioner of Police is Deputy Chief Minister's man. This is how the administration is being destroyed for their political ambitions. If that is the case, create two power centres from top to bottom like a special collector, special district superintendent of police, special tehsildar, special deputy tahsildar,’’ he said.
On the other hand, state NCP chief spokesman Mahesh Tapase took a dig at the Shinde Fadnavis government saying that the government should now create a special Governor’s post.
‘’Will the Shinde Fadanvis government also create a post of special Chief Secretary for the state government & post of Special Municipal Commissioner for Mumbai?’’ asked Tapase. He also questioned the rationale of the home department behind the creation of the post of the special police commissioner.
Meanwhile, officers from the Mumbai Police were reluctant to comment on the new post created within the city police hierarchy for the first time. While maintaining that it was a decision of the government, about which they should not comment, most of these officers also refused to express any view on if the new post, which will be below the Commissioner of Police's post and above the post of Joint Commissioner of Police (Jt CPs), will raise any issue related to coordination.
Inputs from Somendranath Sharma
