Kolkata: A police officer in actual and reel life who has made movies and written performs, and one whose star fell after the Sitalkuchi firing throughout the 2021 meeting polls — the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) have every fielded a former IPS officer from West Bengal within the Lok Sabha elections.
Whereas Debasish Dhar had resigned from the service citing private causes forward of the BJP declaring him its Birbhum candidate, Prasun Banerjee had tendered his voluntary retirement forward of the TMC declaring him its Malda Uttar candidate.
Their experiences as serving law enforcement officials in West Bengal are totally different — just like the events they’ve now picked to serve. Dhar, in contrast to Banerjee, says he was “pissed off” on the job.
Talking to ThePrint, Banerjee, who retired as inspector normal, Raigunj Vary, mentioned politics would assist him attain the general public extra successfully.
“As long as I donned the uniform, I used to be impartial. The rulebook restricts us. There is no such thing as a freedom of speech or expression; as a politician, one can attain the folks extra successfully,” he mentioned.
Banerjee had six-and-a-half years of service left when he selected to retire. A 2006-batch IPS officer, he has beforehand served as superintendent of police (SP) in South Dinajpur and Malda, and deputy inspector normal (DIG) of police in Balurghat and Malda, and in addition within the Crime Investigation Division (CID).
As well as, Banerjee has performed a police officer on display screen in a preferred Bengali tv present, Desher Mati. He has additionally made many documentaries and quick movies and written performs, and plans to go to Kashmir and Manipur to movie a documentary later this yr.
“Yearly, on 31 December, I’ll give a report card to the folks for the work I’ve finished. It’s their proper to know. As I’ve served this district as a police officer, I do know the realm with my eyes closed, which is able to assist me attain folks extra effectively,” added Banerjee.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in control of the house division, will now be Banerjee’s political boss.
“Mamata Banerjee jogged my memory of the nice work I had finished as an officer and advised me to proceed working exhausting. Abhishek Banerjee additionally gave his help,” mentioned Banerjee, who might be taking up the BJP’s sitting MP, Khagen Murmu, in Malda Uttar.
Talking to the media shortly after Banerjee’s title was introduced as a TMC candidate, BJP chief Suvendu Adhikari, the chief of the Opposition within the state meeting, mentioned, “He used to work for the TMC in uniform and now he’ll work with a celebration flag in his arms.”
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‘Political strain on officers’
One other IPS officer — from the 2010 batch — Dhar mentioned the previous three years had left him “pissed off”, so he resigned from service final month.
Dhar was posted as Cooch Behar superintendent of police (SP) by the Election Fee of India throughout the 2021 meeting polls when firing by central forces close to a polling sales space in Sitalkuchi left 4 lifeless.
The West Bengal authorities then suspended Dhar and despatched him on obligatory ready.
Dhar, who additionally served within the CBI, mentioned, “The state had taken recommendation from me about how the CBI capabilities internally, however abruptly, in 2016, minister Sujit Bose complained about me to the CM once I was posted as ADCP (further deputy commissioner of police), Bidhannagar, and issues went down thereafter. There may be at all times political strain on the officers right here in West Bengal.”
The previous IPS officer might be preventing from the Birbhum Lok Sabha seat in opposition to the TMC’s sitting MP, Satabdi Roy, at a time when the celebration’s Birbhum strongman, Anubrata Mondal, stays lodged in Tihar Jail in reference to a probe into alleged cattle smuggling.
“The chief minister has a set of advisers; they vary from bureaucrats to journalists. She believes what she’s advised. I by no means bought an opportunity to talk to her because the Sitalkuchi incident. I may now not compromise, I at all times wished to do justice to my uniform,” added Dhar, who mentioned he deliberate to result in administrative reforms if chosen as a public consultant to the Lok Sabha.
However former IPS officer Humayun Kabir, who received the 2021 Vidhan Sabha elections on a TMC ticket and was elected MLA for Debra, mentioned he by no means confronted any “political strain” whereas in service.
“I’m an MLA now; I don’t converse to my OC (officer-in-charge) — possibly as soon as in two months or to alternate greetings. The SP and the OC do their obligation; I don’t intervene with their work,” he mentioned.
However in accordance with political analysts, law enforcement officials becoming a member of politics have had little to no political impression in West Bengal up to now.
“That is unlucky that serving public servants, who’re anticipated to serve the folks neutrally, are becoming a member of mainstream politics by quitting their service. One IPS has been victimised, so he resorted to becoming a member of politics, and the opposite has been given a ticket for favouring the ruling celebration,” mentioned political analyst Bishwanath Chakraborty.
Chakraborty mentioned such strikes raised questions within the thoughts of the general public at giant concerning the neutrality of the administration, which is meant to work for the folks.
“No bureaucrat, who has stop and joined politics, made an impression in Bengal up to now. Politics is a simple approach to proceed having fun with the privileges and perks of taking part in a kingmaker. As a public servant, one will get sufficient and extra alternatives to succeed in the folks and serve them. As a politician, you get extra energy,” added Chakraborty.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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