MEERUT: The director general (DG) of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Kuldiep Singh, landed in a row on Thursday after he told reporters not to “irritate” when they questioned Union minister Nityanand Rai about the Lakhimpur Kheri incident during a function in Meerut.
Minister of state (MoS) for home affairs, Rai, was in the city to attend a function organised to mark the 29th formation year of Rapid Action Force (RAF). The event was held at RAF Academy for Public Order (RAPO), the country’s first police academy for riot control and public order management.
As Rai, who was chief guest at the event, was leaving the stage, the reporters started asking questions about the deaths of farmers.
It was then that DG Singh, who was following the minister, turned back and told the reporters, “Aap irritate kyu karte hai? Aap ko yeh karna hai bahar kariye jaakar (why do you irritate. If you have to do it, do it outside).”
The 19-second video was widely shared on social media platforms, where it invited criticism.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote on Twitter, “Exactly the problem. When CRPF DG ‘defends’ an MoS Home. How can the Lakhimpur investigation be fair while Ajay Mishra Teni ji continues to be MoS Home, same as Nityanand Rai ji & uniformed officers feel obligated to ‘defend’ them. MoS needs to step down or should be asked to.”
Meanwhile, during the event, while referring to the terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, MoS Rai said that steps have been taken to prevent such attacks and the security situation in the Valley is under control.
“After these attacks, the security situation in the Valley has been reviewed,” he said.
The minister also said that soon RAF will be deployed in natural calamities like floods etc.
According to the RAF, a total of 30 units with 60 personnel each, have been trained as first respondents for natural or man-made disasters like flood rescue operation, earthquake rescue management, chemical, biological, nuclear disaster rescue operations. They will be deployed in all 15 battalions of the RAF across the country.
