Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Punjab Partap Singh Bajwa on Saturday criticised PM Narendra Modi’s concept of one-nation-one-uniform for the cops.
Modi mooted the aforesaid idea during his video conference address to the chief ministers and home ministers of the states at the two day “chintan shivir” organised by the union government at Surajkund, Haryana.
In a written statement, Bajwa said “The saffron party always wanted to paint the entire nation with the same brush – one nation one election, one nation one language, one nation one ration card, and now one nation one uniform for the cops. It appears as if the BJP and its top leadership does not understand the true ethos and culture of India.It is the variety of states, people, communities, religions, languages, cultures, castes, traditions and conventions that constitutes this nation. So, there can never be one or single parameter for the whole country.”
Bajwa said even in developed countries such as the USA or Canada, all provinces and states have their own police forces while at the national level these countries have federal forces. “Since law and order is a state subject, let the states take their own call instead of the Union government trying to remote control them from New Delhi. Our constitution says India is federal in form and unitary in spirit,” added Bajwa.
He added, “Even the idea mooted by Amit Shah to have NIA offices in all states without taking them into confidence was a direct attack on the federal rights. The Centre should instead try to strengthen the state governments’ law enforcement agencies.” He also said that many chief ministers and home ministers of the states were conspicuously absent from the congregation.
