Ready to work with Centre to improve law and order: Government

Kejriwal also spoke on the issue on the sidelines of a function and said “politics needs to be set aside” and that his government was ready to cooperate with the Centre to make the city safer.

The Aam Admi Party (AAP) Monday urged the Union home ministry to chair a meeting with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi police commissioner and other senior officials to find a solution to the rising crime in the capital.

The CM also talked about the Delhi government’s flagship project of installing CCTV cameras across the city. (HT Photo)

The law and order situation was raised in Parliament by AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh who said Delhi is emerging as the “crime capital” of the country and that the MHA should convene a meeting “immediately” to discuss the matter. Law and order, land and police come under the Centre’s jurisdiction and are administered through the lieutenant-governor.

Kejriwal also spoke on the issue on the sidelines of a function and said “politics needs to be set aside” and that his government was ready to cooperate with the Centre to make the city safer. “All of us need to work together to improve the law and order situation in Delhi. Safety and security of each Delhi resident is important to us. The Delhi government will provide all cooperation to the Centre,” Kejriwal said.

The CM also talked about the Delhi government’s flagship project of installing CCTV cameras across the city. “We have started installing CCTV cameras on a large scale. This will help in controlling crime,” he said.

In Parliament, Singh made a special mention during the Zero Hour and alleged that 220 rounds of bullets were fired on Delhi roads during the past month, while 243 incidents of rape were reported during the past year.

Delhi Police in a tweet denied the allegations. “No such increase in crime in Delhi. Overall heinous crimes down by 10% this year compared to 2018. Similarly heinous crimes committed against senior citizens also down by 22% due to preventive efforts of Delhi Police,” the tweet read.

Kejriwal’s and Singh’s comments came a day after the AAP directly blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for “deteriorating” law and order situation.

The BJP countered AAP’s allegations by questioning the timing of the launch of the CCTV camera project. Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari alleged that “Kejriwal remained in deep slumber for the past four and half years and that now he is trying to resort to drama”.

“The AAP government could not install CCTV cameras, provide new buses and depute marshals on them. It also failed to provide free Wi-Fi. In view of upcoming assembly polls, he is making new announcements daily and is also trying to get cheap popularity through media,” he said.