Farmers Movement Archive

Tenure row: No plans to replace DGP, can continue till he retires, says Khattar

Putting an end to the row over the tenure of the state police chief, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday said that there is no plan to replace director general of police (DGP) Manoj Yadava.“We are not removing him as the DGP. After completion of two years, which is a minimum stipulation prescribed by the Supreme Court, the DGP has already been given an extension to continue till further orders. This means Yadava can continue as head of the police force till his retirement or when we decide to replace him. There is no decision to replace him. On the other hand, Yadava may like to go for a central assignment as he has been empaneled for holding a DG rank post at the Centre. That’s for him to decide,” Khattar said during a media interaction.As per the Rules of Business, the authority to appoint or transfer IPS officials is vested with the CM.State home minister Anil Vij had last week triggered controversy by writing to additional chief secretary (home) to send a panel of officers to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to be considered for the next DGP despite the fact that incumbent Manoj Yadava has over four years of service left.While Yadava completed two years on February 20, the state government on January 7 had extended his tenure till further orders.On whether he approved of the statements made by Vij on the tenure of the DGP, the chief minister said that Vij probably thought that the DGP’s tenure was merely for two years. “The SC’s directions are clear. Once the requirement of a minimum two-year tenure for the DGP is fulfilled, the state government can let the DGP continue beyond two years till he retires from service. It’s our discretion,’’ Khattar said.The CM added that Vij is pure-hearted and no one can question his intentions. “Vij is straightforward and speaks his mind. That’s his style of functioning. I have known him since the 90s and I know about his temperament since then. We will clear the air over this when we sit down together,” Khattar said.‘No law can be enacted for MSP’On the ongoing farmers’ agitation over the three farm laws enacted by the Centre, Khattar said it is not possible to enact a law prescribing minimum support price (MSP) for crops as was being demanded by farmer unions. “Politics, unfortunately, has taken over the issue and it is no longer being discussed on merits,” the CM said.‘Will write to Centre to convene meet for SYL’Khattar said he took up the issue of completion of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal with Prime Minister Modi during the recent Niti Aayog meeting.“I will write to Union water resources minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat again to convene a meeting with the Haryana and Punjab CMs to work out a solution for implementation of the SC’s January 15, 2002, and June 4, 2004, orders to complete the remaining portion of the canal by Punjab,” he said.The last such meeting was held in August last year on SC directions.

Hindustan Times

01-03-2021

Chandigarh