If the police fail to enforce the law, democracy fails: NSA Ajit Doval

Gurgaon : NSA Ajit Doval told young police officers heading district force to be "credible and fair" and warned them that if they fail, democracy would also fail. During his lecture, organised by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) under the Union Home Ministry, Doval laid special emphasis on police and policing and asked the new officers to ensure that the man in 'khaki' is seen as fair by a common person.

The comments from the National Security Advisor (NSA) assume significance in the wake of the recent riots in Northeast Delhi where the role and effectiveness of the police in controlling the violence have been questioned.

"In a democracy, it is extremely important to be totally dedicated to the law. You should be doing things fairly and objectively and it is also important that you are seen as credible," he said. Doval, a 1968-batch IPS officer who rose to become Director of Intelligence Bureau and was later picked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his NSA in 2014, said: "Law-making is the most sacrosanct job in a democracy.

It is not done by an imperial ruler or from the pulpit of a religious leader but by the representatives of the people and you are the enforcers of that law."

"If you fail, democracy fails," Doval said while inaugurating the 'Third Young Superintendents of Police Conference' organised here by the BPR&D, a national police think tank. If the police personnel are not able to enforce the law, then framing of that law is immaterial. A law is as good as it is executed on the ground, he said.

Doval said perception about the police is important as people tend to latch on to a "stray" abberation involving a wrong policeman and then they think that to be the standard prototype of policemen and that is what Indian police is all about.

"Perception gives confidence to the people, which enhances their trust level and makes their lives psychologically more secure," he said. If the common man feels that they have got a police that is efficient, alert, honest, objective, professionally competent and friendly, the society gets a sense that all will be secure, Doval emphasised.