On Sunday, addressing a gathering of resident welfare associations (RWA), market associations and non-profit groups, Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal once again did not shy away from making his tug of war with the Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal known to the public.
In an act of disobedience, Kejriwal tore the ‘report’ set by a panel formed by the L-G on ‘working out the guidelines for installation and monitoring’ of CCTV cameras. CM said “no mandatory permission” should be a requirement from the police before installing surveillance cameras, reported PTI.
In the event held at Indira Gandhi Stadium, Kejriwal claimed that after the installation of the CCTVs across Delhi, crimes will be “reduced by half”. He said he will sign the file related to the security cameras on Monday.
Kejriwal said, “Report of LG’s committee whose members are police personnel, says if someone installs CCTV cameras in Delhi, even with their own money, they’ll have to get a license from police. License means ‘paisa chadhao, license le jaao”, before tearing the report.
He added, “So, I want to ask you all here, do we need to get any license for installation of CCTV camera? You all said ‘No’. So, what should we do with this report, should we tear it? So tomorrow (Monday) I will write on the file that the public doesn’t want the condition of taking a licence for CCTVs. We will start setting up cameras without any licence.”
Attacking the Centre and LG for the delay in security cameras installation, Kejriwal said, “For last three years, we have been trying to get CCTVs installed in the city. We also initiated the files, but the L-G, other officers and BJP did not let us work.”
However, after the event, the L-G office issued a statement clearing its stance on the matter. The report said, “Draft rules put out for public suggestions/objections/feedback by the committee formed under the Principal Secretary (Home) have only prescribed a reporting mechanism for CCTVs and not a licensing mechanism.”
The report also mentioned, “It is emphasised that the rules are only at a draft stage and the same have been put out in public domain for suggestions/clarifications so that a proper framework for installation of CCTVs in the city can be evolved which would help in ensuring law and order without compromising on the privacy of citizens,” reported PTI.