SRINAGAR: Odisha-born J&K-cadre IPS officer Basant Rath, who submitted his resignation to the J&K government a few days back to join politics, has expressed his desire to contest elections against two former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.
“If the BJP high-command allows me, I'll contest against Omar Abdullah who was my chief minister when I was the police chief in Jammu, and Mehbooba Mufti who was my chief minister when I was the chief of traffic police in Jammu and Kashmir,” Rath tweeted.
On June 25, Rath, who is under suspension from 2020, announced on Twitter that he has submitted his resignation from the Indian Police Officer to the government to join politics.
In the resignation addressed to J&K Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta, Rath had written, “Please accept my humble request for voluntary retirement from the Indian Police Service ahead of my service period. I wish to join electoral politics in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh”.
“It has been an honour to have served in the coveted IPS and I leave with great sense of gratification and sense of attainment that I gave my best to my people. I hope that you will accept my request for voluntary retirement and oblige me,” further reads Rath’s resignation letter.
Before submitting his resignation, Rath had posted on Twitter, “If I ever join a political party, it WILL be BJP. If I ever contest an election, it WILL be from Kashmir. If I ever join politics, it WILL be before March 6, 2024”.
It is not yet known whether Rath’s resignation letter has been accepted by the government or whether he has formally joined the BJP as no such announcement has been made so far.
Rath has remained controversial for his no-nonsense style in regulating traffic in the twin cities of Srinagar and Jammu. He had won both laurels and criticism for his style of working and had earned the title “Dabang” and “Singham”.
He had also been distributing and shipping textbooks and study material of competitive exams free of cost to youth in remote areas of J&K to enable them to prepare and pass the competitive examinations.
Rath, 50, in another tweet claimed that if anything bad happens to him, J&K police chief should be held responsible for it.
“Dear friends, if anything bad happens to my reputation and safety, Dilbag Singh (son of Balbir Singh), the IPS officer who has been the police chief in J and K since 31.10.2018 (Present Pay Scale - Level - 17), will be responsible,” Rath tweeted.
On June 24 2020, Rath had lodged a written complaint in Police Station Gandhi Nagar, Jammu against DGP Dilbagh Singh alleging threat to his life and liberty and stating that in case untoward happens to him, DGP should be held responsible