BANGALORE: Home Minister K J George on Monday defended the appointment of retired IPS officer M Kemapaiah as his adviser.
“Kemapaiah has been appointed on my request and it is wrong to say that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was unhappy about my performance and imposed Kempaiah on me,” George said.
In a bid to end the raging debate over Kempaiah’s appointment, George was addressing the media along with the top brass of state police and Additional Chief Secretary to Home Department S K Pattanayak.
George dismissed the criticism of BJP leaders by saying this is cheap politics and they do not deserve to be taken seriously.
“The post of home minister has huge responsibility. I have to deal with many complex issues and implement reforms in the Police Department. Having a retired police officer as adviser will reduce the pressure on me,” he said.
George said he has been facing many political challenges in discharging his duties as Home Minister and this made him realise the need for an adviser. He rejected the notion that Kempaiah’s appointment is an indirect admission of his (George’s) incompetence.
“I will emerge stronger. My competence level will go up. Kempaiah cannot undermine my position in the department as I will decide what he does,” George said.
He also dismissed the view that he has set a bad precedent by appointing Kempaiah. “It has been done within the framework of the Constitution. We have in fact set a good precedent. The practice of appointing advisers is not new. Former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa had appointed Diwakar as legal adviser and K Raju as economic adviser,” he said.
He denied allegations that Kempaiah has been interfering in transfers and other issues related to the Police Department. “He has not done it and he will not be allowed to do so,” George added.
George ruled out invoking the Goonda Act against land encroachers en masse. The Act would be invoked only against specific encroachers, he said.
Age Limit for SI Posts Relaxed
Home Minister K J George has decided to expedite modernisation of the Police Department. Around 350 vehicles would be purchased for the department this year and 374 sub-inspectors would be appointed. “We have decided to relax the age limit for the post of sub-inspectors. The upper age limit for general category has been raised from 26 to 28 years and for SC/ST candidates from 28 to 30 years," George said. He also assured that the percentage of women in the force would be raised to 33 from the present 10-20. George also said he had a proposal for setting up a super speciality hospital for the families of police personnel and also a medical college.