Satish Poonia interview: ‘Intelligence engaged to snoop on MLAs and save CM chair, how would they know about Udaipur’

What do you make of the Udaipur case?

Whenever such an incident happens where people from two communities are involved, people associate it with caste or sects while a criminal has no caste. Second, it concerns the state’s law and order. And if someone asks me about the biggest failure of the Congress government in the last 3.5 years, I would put law and order at the top. Rajasthan used to be a peaceful state yet under Ashok Gehlot as the Chief Minister and also the Home Minister, heinous crimes have been taking place continuously.

Such an incident is not possible by a single person. Somewhere, they must have had some links for sure. This needs to be properly investigated. There are several organisations in the state and the country which want to breach peace in the state and in the country and spread anarchy. So, the role of an organisation cannot be denied.

Do you think there was a lapse by the police?

There was certainly a lapse. The CM has engaged the intelligence officials to snoop on his own MLAs, to save his chair. They do that job very well. But that person issued a video on June 17 and it kept doing the rounds on social media. It is not possible that that video did not reach any responsible person. Yet despite that, Kanhaiya Lal was not provided any security. And then the two carried out the murder very casually. So it was indeed a glaring intelligence failure.

The CM has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to appeal for peace.

CM continuously says that the PM should come forward and make an appeal. It is unfortunate that the person, who is the CM and also the HM of a state, is asking the PM to come forward.

Don't miss | Udaipur murder updates

And merely appealing for peace and harmony on Twitter doesn’t help. State government’s laxity on such incidents leads to rise in such cases. The Rajasthan Police’s tagline is ‘Aam jan mein vishwas aur apradhiyon mein bhay’ (Trusted by common men, fear in criminals), but it is the opposite now and the common man is fearful. We are a responsible organisation and do our bit to ensure that peace and harmony is maintained in the state. But the Congress government promotes and behaves in such a way and differentiates between Hindu and Muslims.

And how do they do this?

If you remember, they gave permission to Popular Front of India (PFI) for holding a rally but imposed CrPC 144 in several districts during Ram Navami, thereby restricting the processions. So naturally the question arises in people’s mind that they indulge in appeasement. This leads to fear in the minds of the common man.

Why do you think there has been a rise in heinous cases of late?

Like I said, the law and order has weakened in the state. And there is more political inference in the law now. Second, there is no such police network which works swiftly and intervenes in such incidents in a timely manner. It seems that law and order is not a priority for the government; as many as 18 rapes and 7 murders are committed in the state daily.

What do you think the government should do to prevent such incidents?

In the last 3.5 years, the state has had no fulltime Home Minister. The CM either stays at home or in Delhi. Be it the incidents of Karauli or Jodhpur, the CM should reassure the people – of any community – that we will protect you. But he is more concerned about the security of his chair, than the security of the people.

What are the demands of the state BJP regarding the incident?

Sometimes we come across such heinous incidents, such as of rape, which are fast tracked. This case is very gruesome and hence, the guilty should be punished at the earliest. Quick punishment will also help in restoring the faith of the people.