Prosecute and Chargesheet Nageswar Rao, Director General of Fire Services, Home Guards and Civil Defence
Smt. Brinda Karat, Polit Bureau member of CPI(M), has written a letter to Shri Amit Shah, Union Home Minister and also to the relevant police officials in Delhi which we are releasing for publication.
(For CPI(M) Central Committee office)
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July 28, 2020
Letter to Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah ji,
I would like to draw your attention to the public statement made by Shri Nageswar Rao, an IPS cadre now serving as Director General of Fire Services, Home Guards and Civil Defence under your Ministry.
He is a serving officer bound by service rules and conditions. One of these conditions is that no Government officer can make politically motivated public statements. Secondly, each officer is duty bound to protect and defend the Constitution of India.
However the above named person in his public statement on Twitter reported in The Indian Express, dated July 27th (copy enclosed) has made the most outrageous politically motivated statements which also go against the spirit of the Constitution.
He has insulted heroic freedom fighter Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and other notable educationists belonging mainly to the Muslim community using derogatory language against them and inciting feelings of enmity between two communities. He has openly praised the RSS and BJP for the “rehinduisation of India”. He has approvingly commented on the “growth of the BJP”. He has made demeaning comments against “leftists”.
An individual is entitled to his views according to the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression. But as a serving officer, Nageswar Rao has violated service rules. He is also guilty of offences under Sec 153A and 295A of the IPC.
This is not the first time he has so violated service rules or incited communal feelings. On somewhat similar grounds when he was a serving officer in the Berhampur Development Authority in Odisha in the late nineties, he made some toxic communal statements. Two official inquiries found him guilty and indicted him and took disciplinary measures. So he is a habitual offender with a bad record.
His comments may make him eligible for induction into the BJP or RSS after his scheduled retirement reportedly on July 31st. However he has made these statements as a serving officer. He therefore must be chargesheeted for violation of service rules and also prosecuted under the relevant sections of the IPC. I hope you will take the required action so that officers who serve the country, remaining politically neutral and within the constitutional framework, will get confidence that those like Nageswar Rao who violate service rules as well as the spirit of the Constitution with a political motive will face punishment according to the law.
Since the Delhi police is under your jurisdiction I would also like to inform you that I have filed a complaint against him asking for the registration of an FIR under Sec 153A and 295A. I request you to expedite the process for his prosecution.
Yours sincerely,
Sd/-
(Brinda Karat)
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Letter to SHO
This is a complaint against a statement made on Twitter by Shri Nageswar Rao, Director General of Fire Services, Home Guards and Civil Defence reported in The Indian Express dated July 27th, 2020.
In the said statement made by the above named person put out in the public domain he has made the most outrageous charges against heroic freedom fighter Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and other noted historians, all belonging to the Muslim community of “deracination of Hindus,” “of whitewashing of bloody Islamic invasions/rule.” He has referred to “rehinduised Hindu society” and so on. His words, language, tenor and intention is to cause enmity and hostility between communities and to incite feelings of hatred against Muslims. His words are totally against the spirit of the Constitution and law. His words amount to a criminal offence under Sec 153 A and Sec 295 (A) of the IPC . He has also referred to “left” historians in the most derogatory terms.
I request you to file an FIR on the basis of my complaint. I enclose the copy of The Indian Express report.
I would like to mention that in recent times it has been seen that the Delhi police has been quite active in using Sec 153A and Sec 295A on the basis of complaints, I may add, wrongly and in a selective manner. I hope you will register an FIR without any delay. Kindly provide me a copy of the FIR.
Since my address is under the police jurisdiction of Mandir Marg thana, I am addressing this letter to you. I am also sending a copy to the DCP, New Delhi and the Commissioner of Police.
Yours sincerely,
Sd/-
(Brinda Karat)
Copy to:
1) The Commissioner of Police, Delhi
2) DCP, New Delhi