NSA Sent to Control Delhi Riots as PMO Doesn't Have Faith in Home Ministry: Congress Leader Tells Lok Sabha

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) did not have any faith in the prowess of the Union Home Ministry and this is why National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, who reports directly to the PMO, had to intervene after three days of communal mayhem in Delhi, Congress’s leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Chowdhury demanded the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah for his failure to contain the riots that broke out in the last week of February. In his speech, Chowdhury also raked up the issue of the “midnight transfer” of Delhi High Court judge Justice S Muralidhar to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

During the stormy session dedicated to discussing the communal violence from February 24-26, Chowdhury said that when the Delhi Police, which reports to the Home Ministry, failed to control the situation after three days, it fell on the shoulders of the NSA himself to contain it. “Nowhere in the country has the NSA ever gone to deal with a law and order situation, but this has happened in Delhi for the first time. It means that the PMO doesn’t believe in the Home Ministry’s capabilities,” said Chowdhury.

Doval had visited the riot-affected areas of Northeast Delhi on February 26 following the large-scale communal clashes. A total of 53 people died in the clashes, with more than 500 injured and seeking medical care in various hospitals.

Chowdhury also raked up the issue of the “midnight transfer” of Justice Muralidhar. “It was a midnight attack on Justice Muralidhar after he issued orders to the Delhi Police to take action against those involved in the riots and those who had delivered hate speeches,” he said, causing ruckus in the house.

Justice Muralidhar had pulled up the Delhi Police over inaction as the riots worsened in the national capital and had also directed them to file FIRs against a number of BJP leaders for making hate speeches that allegedly stoked violence. The same night, he was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

“If we can strike deep within Pakistan's Balakot, can't we have the capability of stopping riots? That too in the national capital?” Chowdhury asked. “Hate speeches have become a norm in this country. Today many people can be heard sloganeering ‘Desh ke gaddaron ko’. Are we proud of this slogan? If not, then why aren't we punishing the people who shout such communally flagrant statements?”

Chowdhury said there was no doubt about the capability of the Delhi Police. “The same Delhi Police that did not think twice before entering the campuses of Jamia Millia Islamia did not take action against perpetrators of the recent violence because they are being politically used by the Home Ministry,” he said.

Chowdhury said that construction material and outsiders were reported entering the national capital but the governments, both in the assembly and at the Centre, did nothing to stem the situation.

“The Home Minister has not even visited the houses of those who have been affected by the riots. Why? If the scare is due to coronavirus, could they not wear masks and go there? If Ajit Doval can go there, why cannot the Home Minister. We demand his resignation,” Chowdhury said.

The Congress sought a judicial inquiry, headed by a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court or the Supreme Court, into the incident and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi also participate in the discussions on the riots.