India 360: Kiran Bedi lashes out at Home Ministry

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New Delhi: On a day when India's first woman president was sworn in, India's first woman IPS officer, Kiran Bedi, has lashed out at the Home Ministry's decision to appoint Y S Dadwal and not her as the police commissioner. Kiran Bedi -- the Director General of Bureau of Police Research and Development -- told CNN-IBN that the appointment of Dadwal, who is junior to her, sends out the wrong message.

Bedi and Dadwal were the key contenders for the commissioner's post which will soon be vacated by K K Paul.

There have been rumours of late that some bureaucrats within the Home Ministry were against Bedi's appointment, for they think she is too radical and outspoken. Bedi has decided to go on leave, and says she may challenge Dadwal's appointment in court.

In this exclusive chat with CNN-IBN's Smitha Nair on India 360, Kiran Bedi talks about the unfairness of the appointment procedure in the country.

Smitha Nair: Do you believe that there are various lobbies at work here that have kept you away from the commissioner's post - perhaps given the fact that you are someone who can speak your mind and that could have caused considerable discomfort to some people given the sensitivity of the post?

Kiran Bedi In our system of personnel and critical positions, it is all lobbies at work. We do not have objective measures and ways to appoint people. There is no transparency in the appointment system. And this is something that I don't think we have solutions to at all. That's exactly the reason that the Supreme Court judgement tried to put a system in place, but we have yet to act on the judgement.

Smitha Nair: Do you believe that the administration was looking for a 'Yes Man' or a 'Yes Woman' who would perhaps be sub-servient?

Kiran Bedi Administrations as a rule look for people that would go with them. There were just a few exceptions in my 35 years of service - Ved Marwah, J N Chaturvedi and Ajai Raj Sharma. These were people who stood up for certain things. But these people are very few and they only prove the rule.

Smitha Nair: Do you believe that if police reforms were implemented, perhaps the scene would have been a little bit different? These reforms were something that you yourself were advocating for.

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Kiran Bedi Absolutely. The tragedy is that we are all along listening to statements, speeches and platitude for police reforms and improvement in police conduct, but it's the last thing that will be done. That's the hipocrasy of the whole situation. We talk but we don't do anything and the moment some people try and bring in reforms in their departments, they become persona non gratas, they are unwelcome.

Smitha Nair: It's also ironical that on a day when the political establishment in the country seems to be celebrating women's empowerment as the first woman president of India has been sworn in, you have clearly been overlooked for the post of Delhi Police Commissioner. Is it a clear case of discrimination?

Kiran Bedi Well, I have never talked about gender discrimination when it comes to me for I am a strong professional. I've never looked at my case as a gender issue for I have risen above such issues. But somehow or the other, I think this time it smacks of it. I won't rule it out because a woman administrator is still an enigma for the bureaucracy in India. The bureaucracy is not sure of the mind of the woman. I think there is still a sense of insecurity. The bureaucrats do not know how much subservient can a woman be. I think they want to play it safe.

Smitha Nair: You've vindicated some sort of legal recourse that you might perhaps take, but some experts are saying that your rank - that of a Director General - is equal to the rank of a police commissioner and therefor you possibly may not have a case in the legal sense. What is your take on that?

Kiran Bedi I still do not know whether I have a case or not and that is the area that I am exploring. Till I know whether I have a case or not, I cannot take legal recourse. All I have said is that I am keeping all my options open. But I want the public to know what is happening and if there is a legal recourse, then I will surely approach the court. I will not use it to come to the post of a police commissioner, but I will use it to expose any unfairness -- which it is because two years of seniority has been jumped. What is so exceptional about the current incumbent who is taking over as the police commissioner I want to know.