Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said control over Delhi Police must rest with centre (File)
Jurisdiction over the police must rest with centre and not the Delhi government to avoid conflict of interest, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh said today. The Congress has opposed chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's demand for control over the police and full statehood for Delhi.
Mr Singh noted that this was the practice when it came to capital cities all over the world.
"Washington is directly controlled by the Federal government. It is a matter of internal security," Mr Singh said giving an example.
"If there is a conflict of interest, between the Chief Minister of one party and the government of another party (Centre) what will happen?" Mr Singh asked.
"What does statehood mean? It means the policing powers rest with the state government. What happens if Delhi Chief Minister files a criminal case against the Prime Minister? Except control over police the Delhi Chief Minister has all powers, like any other state's Chief Minister," Mr Singh said.
"There has to be clear-cut delineation of powers in the constitution, which is there," he said on the frequent tug-of-war between the Delhi government and the centre appointed Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung.
"If you compare the tenure of the Sheila Dikshit (former Chief Minister) and Arvind Kejriwal, both had similar powers - but she delivered, and he just fights. People say that no one has done what she had achieved during her tenure," he said.
The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi earlier this year released a draft bill on full statehood in Delhi, seeking to bring police, land, municipal corporations, and bureaucracy under the state government's control.