On the sideline of the national debate on the proposed new constitution, Tamil political parties have written to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking an external intervention for a federal solution to the alleged grievances of Tamil people in the North and East as the final settlement and until then the demand for full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution enacted after signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement of 1987.
While top South Asian experts are of the view that India has no compulsion for 1987-like intervention in Sri Lanka now and the likely advice from New Delhi to Sri Lankan Tamil politicians would be to;‘Be more practical in your demands without clinging to redundant positions’.
President J R Jayewardene, under pressure accepted the Indian proposal and established Provincial Councils in 1987. However, the fact remains that the experience of Provincial Councils in the past 30 years demonstrated that the full constitutional extent of devolution that is possible by an innovative and flexible approach to the implementation of the 13th Amendment has not been realised. This is mainly due to unrealistic expectations of the 13th Amendment. The Provincial Councils were set up in a rush and the impractical demands such as Police and land powers could not be implemented over the years.
Recipe for disaster
In Sri Lanka, like many other resurgent Nations of the South, there are blatant attempts at political interference in policing. If the Police powers are to be devolved to provinces, there would be nine Police forces in addition to the Central Police, and experts believe, that would be a recipe for disaster.
India has 29 Police services in addition to the Central Government Police, the Reserve Police and few other central law enforcement bodies. As most of the Indian states are bigger than Sri Lanka, it is not possible for a single Central Police Force to maintain law and order, thus there is every justification for the establishment of State Police services. Therefore, each of the 29 States have their own Police forces. The Centre is also allowed to maintain its own Police forces to assist the states with ensuring law and order. It maintains seven central Police forces and some other Police organisations for specialised tasks such as intelligence gathering, investigation, research and record-keeping, and training.
The primary role of Police forces is to uphold and enforce laws, investigate crimes and ensure security for people in the country. In a large and populous country like India, Police forces need to be well-equipped, in terms of personnel, weaponry, forensic, communication and transport support, to perform their role well.
However, the clear cut demarcation of state and central Police functions, could not prevent serious disputes between the State Police and the Indian Central Police. The most recent issue was the breach in security of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Punjab on 5 January.With farmer protesters blocking the road, the PM’s cavalcade was stranded on a flyover in Hussainiwala in Punjab. Calling it “a major lapse in the security of the PM”, the Ministry of Home Affairs had sought a report from the Punjab Government and asked it “to fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action”.
Centre to take action
Indian Media reported that the Centre is considering action under the Special Protection Group Act against Punjab Police officers following the security breach. Even as the Punjab Government has constituted a high-level committee to probe the incident, sources said the Centre is preparing to take action against erring officials under provisions of the SPG Act. This, they said, could entail summoning the Punjab Police officers responsible to Delhi or instituting a central-level inquiry against them. “What happened on Wednesday in Punjab is a violation of the SPG Act as the State Government failed to follow all protocols set by the SPG for the PM’s movement. Things are being worked out. Action will be taken,” a Government official told Media.
Section 14 of the SPG Act makes the State Government responsible for providing all assistance to the SPG during the PM’s movement.
The provision, titled ‘Assistance to Group’, states: “It shall be the duty of every Ministry and Department of the Central Government or the State Government or the Union Territory Administration, every Indian Mission, every local or other authority or every civil or military authority to act in aid of the Director or any member of the Group whenever called upon to do so in furtherance of the duties and responsibilities assigned to such Director or member.”
If there are nine provincial Police forces in Sri Lanka, one could imagine the chaos in such a situation involving a VVIP travelling from one province to another.
There was another recent instance of a clash between Indian Central Police and State Police of West Bengal. Last year, when a convoy of BJP president
J P Nadda was attacked allegedly by Trinamool workers during a political rally in West Bengal, the Centre had called three IPS officers, who were in charge of Nadda’s security, on central deputation to Delhi. The MHA had then directed West Bengal Police officers to report to Delhi for a deputation with the Government of India. The three officers, however, were not released by the State Government and did not join central deputation as demanded by the MHA.
Devolving Police powers
The MHA had then also sought a report from the Chief Secretary and the DGP of the state and even summoned them to Delhi for a meeting. The state, however, did not send a report and the two officers excused themselves from the meeting on the ground that the State Government was already probing the matter. The developments had precipitated a war of words between the Trinamool and the BJP, with the former calling MHA “vindictive”.
If the Police powers were devolved to provinces in Sri Lanka, there could be major rifts between the central Police and provincial Police, especially during National Elections when opposition parties are in power in a province. In such an event it could lead to even communal clashes if the minority parties holding power in a province attempt to defend the errant provincial Police officers or vice versa.
In India, the opposition parties in the States demand probes by central agencies even on trivial issues and the party in power in the State interprets such demands as one that infringes upon the constitutional rights of the states. When both sides move court, it becomes difficult for the courts of law to decide and it could lead to a serious impasse.
There is a justification for the demand for Tamil speaking Policemen and women for Police stations in the north and east. However, establishing an armed separate Police forces for the provinces could create a security nightmare instead of solving the issue of maintenance of law and order. It is for the constitution drafting bodies to ensure a safe mechanism without rushing through a draft similar to 13th Amendment, which created more problems than finding answers.