In Modi's India, why is law and order "conveniently" not a state subject?

Moreover, it would have also sent a very strong message that such intolerance would not be allowed in a state which is run by a Chief Minister who sought the blessings of writers after taking oath.

In Narendra Modi's India, law and order is conveniently not a state subject. Awards were returned when rationalist M M Kalburgi was killed. Several sections went outright and blamed the centre following the death of journalist Gauri Lankesh.

Before getting into any further details, do read what the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution says:

Public Order' and Police' figure as entries 1 and 2 respectively in the State List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. Each State has, therefore, exclusive power to legislate in regard to its police system and also has full administrative control over the police in the State. The Central Government can exercise similar power in regard to Public Order' and Police' in the Union Territories only. Under entry 80 of the Union List, the Centre has powers to extend the jurisdiction of the members of the police force of one State to another State, but it can be done only with the consent of the latter State.

The recent outbreaks of violence in West Bengal were once again blamed on the Centre. It is the state which has complete control over policing and in case the law and order machinery breaks down, it is the state that is responsible for the same.

The probes into the murders of Kalburgi and Gauri are both being handled by the state. While it is too early to comment on the Gauri Lankesh murder, the fact is that there has been no lead what so ever in the Kalburgi case, barring the fact that a pistol was used.

In the midst of the all the centre bashing and the tortoise speed probe, it would be pertinent to ask if the Karnataka government has pulled up its officers for such a slow probe?

When Kalburgi was murdered, many of us felt that the probe would be wound up in quick time. Siddaramaiah is the only Chief Minister of Karnataka to have broken tradition and met with writers and intellectuals just after he was sworn in as the Chief Minister.

All other Chief Ministers have met with religious leaders and pontiffs after being administered oath of office. It was only natural for Siddaramaiah to ensure that the matter was probed in quick time so that the family of the deceased attained a closure.

Moreover, it would have also sent a very strong message that such intolerance would not be allowed in a state which is run by a Chief Minister who sought the blessings of writers after taking oath.
Another interesting point in the Kalburgi incident was that his security had been withdrawn by the state government.

It came as quite a surprise that the security of the writer was withdrawn just a couple of months before the murder. The Karnataka government went on to clarify that it was Kalburgi himself who had written for the security to be withdrawn. Moreover, his daughter too had said that her father had asked for the security to be withdrawn. While this may be a justified explanation, the Karnataka government cannot take cover under the fact that the security was withdrawn just because the person had asked for it.

There were enough and more intelligence alerts suggesting that Kalburgi's life was under immense threat. In matters of security, it is the state which should have rejected the letter written by Kalburgi citing a threat. It is the discretion of the state government whether or not to withdrawn security.

If the government was quick to suggest that the Gauri Lankesh murder had similarities with that of Kalburgi, Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar, then it would only be apt to hand over the probe to the CBI. History has shown that the police of different states do not often cooperate. Jurisdiction constraints and multiple bureaucratic hurdles often come in the way of a speedy probe. The CBI a centralised agency does face such constraints thanks to the powers vested in it. Considering these cases have inter-state ramifications, it would only be apt to hand over the probe to the CBI.

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