Gill request: Time for Cong rollback

The Punjab government’s stand has come as a surprise to many here given that Gill himself told The Indian Express yesterday that before taking up his request with the Centre, he had got the approval of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

Today, however, the CM announced that he ‘‘regretfully decided that no police force could be spared.’’ This was stated in a press note issued by the Director, Information and Public Relations. ‘‘Punjab Police was committed in Punjab permanently in the areas adjoining Jammu and Kashmir and in normal policing duties and just one battalion was available in reserve.’’

Sources said the Punjab Police had been gearing up to spare as many as 20 companies of its battalion for a phased deployment under Gill in Gujarat.

It is learnt that at least 10 companies (six companies make a battalion) were readily available and could have been spared. In addition, 5,000 personnel have been released for normal policing duties by the slashing of security cover provided to VIPs.

There is speculation in political circles here that the reason behind the decision is more political. A senior Punjab officer who did not want to be named said that the Congress, ‘‘gunning for Modi’s head,’’ wouldn’t like to help him at this stage.

However, Sinha denied that the decision had anything to do with politics and said it was based on the crime, law and order and ‘‘militancy situation’’ in states neighbouring Punjab. ‘‘It’s a presumption being made by journalists as there is a Congress Government in Punjab and a BJP Government in Gujarat. There is nothing political.’’

Asked as to whether the Punjab Government was not aware of these realities just a few days back when the State Government had publicly accepted to Gill’s request, Sinha said crime incidents yesterday in Punjab had ‘‘woken us up.’’

‘‘Gill had spoken to me on the telephone asking for one battalion for Gujarat. Since Gill had been with us, we agreed. But the incidents of crime yesterday in Punjab, like the double-murder in Amritsar, induced us into some soul-searching. We woke up to the fact and reviewed the deployment of the Police in Punjab. We have only one battalion in reserve and if any contingency arises in Punjab, this battalion would have to be used. We have a common border with Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir where five to six of our police battalions are deployed under the Army’s command,’’ said Sinha.

‘‘The central forces like the CRPF, RAF and the Army are already in Gujarat. Anyway, the situation in Gujarat needs much more than just one battalion as nearly 200 companies are needed to saturate the affected areas,’’ said Sinha.

Speaking to The Indian Express yesterday, Gill said that his request for Punjab commandos was just one step towards getting reinforcements. ‘‘More manpower and force multipliers are needed to end the continuing violence and also relieve the Gujarat police and give them some rest,’’ he said.

Asked whether he preferred Punjab commandos since he had a good equation with them when he was Punjab police Chief, Gill said: ‘‘What is important is that these commando units proved to be very effective in Assam and the Government there wanted them to stay on. They were also very useful in the Bihar elections and are now deployed for conducting joint operations in Himachal Pradesh and along the Jammu and Kashmir border from where they will be partially pulled out and routed to Gujarat.’’