The Hindu : Modi's office `not aware' of Gill's appointment

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 04, 2002

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Other States - Gujarat

Modi's office `not aware' of Gill's appointment

By Manas Dasgupta

GANDHINAGAR MAY 3. The former Director-General of Punjab Police, K.P.S. Gill, arrived in Ahmedabad this evening, even as the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi's office claimed that it was unaware about his appointment as Mr. Modi's Security Adviser.

The CMO sources said no message had yet been received from the Centre about Mr. Gill's appointment. While confirming Mr. Gill's arrival here, they said they were not aware if he had come for any "personal work'' or as the Security Adviser to the Chief Minister. No move had been initiated for providing office space to him in the CMO.

Many of the Cabinet Ministers, including the Minister of State for Home, Gordhan Jhadafiya, denied any knowledge about Mr. Gill's appointment. The sources close to the Chief Minister said they had learnt about the appointment only from the newspapers and had not received any communication from the Centre. The State Government did not seek Mr. Gill's appointment and the Chief Minister was "unhappy'' over the development which indicated that the State administration was "incompetent'' to handle the riots, they said. Now that the law and order situation had improved and the State was fast returning to normality with no untoward incident reported during the last three days, Mr. Gill's appointment would only "demoralise'' the State police force, they added.

The pradesh Congress president, Amarsinh Chaudhary, welcomed the move to the extent that it indicated the beginning of the Centre's intervention in the State to improve the law and order situation, which was his party's demand, and "clipping of Mr. Modi's wings'', but it did not augur well for the State police.

He refused to draw a parallel between the appointment of Julius Rebeiro as the Director General of the State police following the 1985 communal riots in the State when he was the Chief Minister, and Mr. Gill's appointment now. Mr. Rebeiro was in service when he was appointed the DGP and an IPS officer could be appointed anywhere in the country, but Mr. Gill was a retired IPS officer and his appointment indicated super-imposition over the State police, he claimed.

Mr Gill's appointment directly by the Centre against the wishes of Mr. Modi also indicates that the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, who during his visit to the State a month ago had advised the Chief Minister to follow "Raj Dharma,'' was none too happy with his performance in controlling the situation. Even while resisting, for political reasons, the pressures from the Opposition and some of the National Democratic Alliance to remove Mr. Modi, he has given a clear indication that he expected Mr. Modi to perform.

The city police control said Mr. Gill, who himself had "Z Plus" security cover, arrived by a Jet Airways flight from Mumbai and was immediately taken to the IPS officers' mess.

He was received at the airport by the Joint Police Commissioner of Ahmedabad, M.K. Tandon, and other senior police officers.

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Modi's office `not aware' of Gill's appointment