New Delhi: Kiran Bedi is once again being seen waving a flag in the capital. But this time it is the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJPs) saffron and green flag. Reviving images of her days as a protester during the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement led by social activist Anna Hazare in 2011 and waving the Indian tricolor while chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’, she is repeating the same during her road shows ahead of the forthcoming elections in Delhi.
Bedi will be contesting from east Delhi’s Krishnanagar seat, a BJP stronghold. She was parachuted on to the Delhi assembly poll scene and declared the party’s chief ministerial candidate barely 20 days before the polls are to be held — February 7.
The once popular police officer is bonding with the public and garnering enthusiasm among both men and women, enthusiastically waiting on their balconies and terraces for a glimpse of Bedi.
Bedi spots a group of young girls gaping at her. Not losing the opportunity, she says, “Don’t worry about your security anymore.” The girls have by now heard stories of Bedi’s histrionics and feel an instant connect with her on the most important issue — women’s security, a lack of which plagues the city.
Security was not a concern when Bedi joined the police service in 1972. She had got married the same year. Her husband Brij Bedi recalls, “She was always a go-getter. Once in college, she wanted to meet the vice-chancellor, but wasn’t allowed to go inside. She took a mat and a pillow and sat outside his office reading a book!”
So, does it ascertain that Bedi bides her time?
An elderly bureaucrat confirms: “We saw Bedi hobnobbing with leaders like Lal Krishan Advani when he was minister of Home Affairs, but her clean image and tough persona led us to believe she would never join politics. My respect for her went several notches up when she refused to join even Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) saying she did not want to be a part of their ‘politics’. But look at her now!”
‘Mission mode’
On her part, Bedi says she is in ‘Mission Mode’. “I don’t have any ambition. I just want to make my Delhi better. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his leadership qualities inspired me. He is the reason I finally decided to support a party.”
Reacting to being dubbed an opportunist, who ditched Anna Hazare and AAP, she said, “Anna knows I have joined the BJP out of dedication and not selfish reasons. If someone mistakes my dedication for selfishness, then I have nothing to say.”
There is no mistaking the fact that Bedi has always been unconventional. Born on June 9, 1949, in Amritsar, Punjab, she met her husband in 1971 on the tennis courts of Amritsar. A whirlwind romance was followed by a quiet temple wedding within a year, after which she trained as the first woman Indian Police Service officer of the country. Not fearing authority, she became the highest-ranking woman official in the nation’s history, altering the dynamics of power in the force. Whatever position she held, Bedi’s dedication showed.
Though stories of her administrative abilities were heard often, she shot to fame in 1982 on getting then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s car wrongfully parked at Connaught Place towed. Serving as deputy commissioner of police traffic, she was nicknamed ‘Crane’ Bedi.
In 1988, she ordered baton charge on lawyers gathered outside her office to protest the handcuffing of one of their colleagues, who was arrested on the charge of theft. Also, armed with only a wooden baton, she had once single-handedly charged at a bunch of unruly, sword-wielding Sikh protesters in Delhi.
A woman of principles and substance, while Bedi earned respect from both the police and the public, the powers that be ensured she was shunted out of Delhi. Sent to Goa on a punishment posting, she showed her prowess again by towing away several VIP driven cars, parked in tow-away zones.
Introducing reforms
She was the first police officer to introduce prison reforms in the country. Her humanitarian approach in improving the condition of prisoners of Tihar Jail won her the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1994. “More than a moment of victory, it reinstated my belief in my work. The award gave my work acceptance and respect it deserved,” she acknowledged.
After the Award, she set up India Vision Foundation to work in the field of prison reforms, crime prevention and education. It engages with children whose parents are lodged in Tihar Prisons. She confessed, “I realised the power of an NGO (non-governmental organisation). I could work on my own terms and get results that were far more extensive than when I was limited by the system.”
Along with other like-minded police officers, she also set up Navjyoti India Foundation with the aim to curb crime by attacking its ‘root causes.’ The NGO runs programmes on skill development and improving literacy.
However, she sought voluntary retirement in 2007 after Y S Dadwal was appointed Delhi police chief, superseding her. She was then the director-general of Police Research and Development. “I realised, I was limited in the force. And wanted to do more for society,” she had said and plunged headlong into social work.
Bedi came into limelight once again on joining the anticorruption movement, sharing the platform with Arvind Kejriwal. The success of Anna’s fast probably made her convictions stronger, as she geared up to reform the nation. But when Kejriwal formed AAP in 2012, Bedi became critical of him and the two crusaders who had once walked the same path went different ways.
“That’s because her dictatorial style clashed with an equally strong-minded Kejriwal,” an AAP worker commented.
Professionally aggressive and ambitious, Bedi is, no doubt, a brand name in herself. Her detractors claim they knew it would only be a matter of time when she would enter politics. With her occasional statements and tweets, Bedi had been warming up to BJP for a while. However, the dramatic way in which she got catapulted as the chief ministerial candidate just four days after joining the party, took even the state leadership by surprise.
Her induction is evoking mixed reactions among the party’s rank and file bringing both bouquets and brickbats her way. While most resent the prominence she is given, including attending closed-door strategy meetings, some feel she is charismatic and could tilt the seats in party’s favour.
Just as finance minister in the BJP government Arun Jaitley states, “Bedi has experience in governance and enjoys a credible image,” Balkrishan, 50, an accountant in a private firm is disappointed, “One of the most admirable images of Bedi were that of her standing next to Anna Hazare. But in no time she is standing next to Amit Shah!”
A disgruntled BJP leader said: “We were on the forefront in agitations and protests when BJP was in opposition, but at the time of giving tickets, we have been sidelined. Bedi is a shrewd woman. She had figured the party needed her to counter Kejriwal. After all who would know his tactics better than her. She set a precondition to be named chief minister candidate if she were to lead the campaign.”
Even as the BJP expects that Bedi would help it counter AAP, a national daily in an opinion poll asked its readers — Is Bedi the best choice as the BJP’s CM nominee? While 50 per cent said ‘yes’ an equal number said ‘no’.
Bedi’s image as a tough cop comes handy in the capital where crime against women has only increased in the last few years. But whether she is able to help BJP win the elections, only time will tell. If it does, knowing Bedi, all those who’re used to breaking the rules will need to fasten their seat belts.
