Women's safety first, corruption 7th on my agenda: Kiran Bedi - Economic Times

Kiran Bedi on her plans for Delhi, contesting elections & friend-turned-foe Kejriwal.

Q: BJP has declared that you will contest the upcoming polls. Will you take on your one-time comrade Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi constituency?

A: The decision will be taken by the party. If they want me to contest against Kejriwal, I will do that.

Q: You are tipped to be chief minister if BJP wins. What will be your work priority?

A: What is not a priority in Delhi? I believe in holistic development of the city. On the presumption that the party will win, there are several issues on my priority list. Women's safety and cleanliness top my agenda, followed by essential services like electricity, water, sewerage and other civic amenities.

Q: What about corruption, which was the core issue of Team Anna's movement in 2011?

A: Corruption stands seventh on my list of priorities. Several surveys also show that development and governance are the key issues. If we can deliver on these two, a lot of things, including (checking) corruption, will fall into place. We need a comprehensive approach.

Q: How do you plan to ensure women's safety? Cases of rape and harassment have not declined despite the outrage after the Nirbhaya gang rape.

A: I have a six-P formula: people, politician, police, prosecution, prison and press. Through people, I mean parents, school principals, community leaders and faith teachers who can play a constructive role in creating awareness. We need politicians to strengthen the law against sexual violence. We need police for both response and prevention, and responsible investigation. There is a need to set up state-of-the-art forensic labs. A big reason for increase in crime against women is slow delivery of justice. There is an urgent need to set up fast-track courts and ensure justice is delivered in time-bound manner.

In recent cases, for example Shakti Mills and Uber, we saw the accused were serial offenders. Prisons can play a vital role in reforming these offenders and the media is crucial for right reportage. All the six Ps have to work in tandem, and with the CM's office.

Q: Crime against women is increasing in Delhi. What needs to be done?

A: There is no alignment between government and civil society. I plan to recall, retrain and re-deploy an army of civil defence. We had built a good system of civil defence during my tenure in Delhi Police. They will be deployed in the entire city wearing yellow T-shirts. There is a provision for honorarium of Rs 200 per day for this service. If there are one lakh police officers, we will add nearly 50,000 citizen police to man our streets. We will call upon the youth to join civil defence but there will be a proper screening process.