Aam Aadmi Party’s national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal arrived at Ahmedabad airport Wednesday for his one-day visit to Gujarat. In an event organised at Town Hall, Ahmedabad, the Gujarat state chief Gopal Italia shared a heartfelt letter written by a young policeman’s daughter.
“The letter touches on issues of challenging work conditions and a meagre salary. The working hours are long. The girl has also alleged wrong use of police force,” shared Italia, adding that his days as a police officer also point to the same drudgery in the name of a job.
Her letter read:
Dear Arvind Kejriwal ji,
Jai Hind. The whole nation is proud of you for the kind of work you are doing.
If you get time please look into the working conditions, pay and misuse of policemen in Gujarat. There is scope for a lot of improvement in this sector.
You will form the government in Gujarat in 2023 and so, I thought to share my concerns with you.
We stand with you.
-A Policeman’s Daughter
Lauding the girl’s courage, Kejriwal observed: “It is a matter of courage that you chose to share your concerns with us instead of writing to Gujarat’s Chief Minister or any other Opposition party of the State. I assure you that we will not let you down.”
Watch his post here:
Kejriwal noted that vis-à-vis the rest of the country, policemen in Gujarat are paid the lowest. “How can a person run his house for just Rs 20,000 a month? I hope to improve the pay scale and working conditions of policemen in Gujarat. We assure a decent pay and a healthy work-life balance. I thank all policemen for doing their work and urge them to help the Aam Aadmi Party form the government,” his post reads.
It is noteworthy that in 2021, DGP Ashish Bhatia formed a committee to address the Gujarat Police grade-pay snarls. The committee included Deputy Secretary (Home Department) Jigar Patel, Chief Financial Officer, DG Office, Smriti Pathak, as Member Secretary, an official of the Finance Department. Bhatia, however, concluded that the “existing pay was satisfactory.”
