"I don't know whether I will be Home Minister after elections."
This was Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde's remarks at a Delhi Police function where he launched a web-based application which will allow people to report the loss of any document/article online.
Speaking before a packed hall, Shinde lauded Delhi Police for their "good work during difficult times".
"I come from Mumbai; there we face a lot of difficulties, but the kind of problems I saw in Delhi is not seen in Mumbai or anywhere else in the country," he said.
"The patience with which you people faced the situation, it gave us power, it gave the government power. I would like to congratulate you," he told the Delhi Police personnel.
Talking about the December 16, 2012, gangrape and the subsequent protest which saw Delhi Police come under severe criticism, Shinde said, "I had to face criticism from various quarters. Many people started making allegations. But the way you people have performed in the last one-and-a-half years, you and the organisation have set a milestone."
Shinde, himself a former Maharashtra policeman, said that a policeman's job is such that one has to listen to criticism from both sides, from the people and from the government.
"But you are brave, I am confident that Delhi Police will always do good work in the future," he said.