Ethics of public discourse: ADGP's inflammatory remarks under scrutiny

The case involving HD Kumaraswamy, Union minister for Steel and Heavy Industries, who is facing a probe by the Karnataka Lokayukta regarding a denotification case took an ugly turn on Sunday (September 29) when, in a letter (dated September 28, 2024) and addressed to the Staff of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), Karnataka Lokayukta, M Chandra Sekhar, ADGP, SIT, advised his subordinates not to be deterred from discharging their duties, alleging that the former, in a press conference, had made “false and malicious allegations and threats”.

Chandra Sekhar, an Additional Director General of Police (ADGP)-rank Himachal cadre IPS officer, heads the SIT under Lokayukta constituted to probe a case in which Kumaraswamy is an accused. He has termed the state JD(S) president an “accused who is on bail” and one who is targeting him with the aim of demotivating his officers.

Chandra Sekhar said in the letter, “This accused who is on bail, Sh. HD Kumaraswamy, has done this to deter us from discharging our duties. It appears that his objective is to create fear in the minds of officers of SIT by attacking me. But an ACCUSED, however high and mighty he may be, is an ACCUSED. Let us not get demotivated by such allegations and threats.” He further promised to “protect” his staff “from all external influences”.

One might well have let it go if Chandra Sekhar’s rants had stopped at this. But what made this letter significantly uncalled-for—in fact vulgar and even atrocious—was the second part of the letter, where Sekhar referred to “a famous English quote by George Bernard Shaw which says, ‘Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it’.”

In this instance, the language and composition used by this very high-ranking police officer while referring to a Union minister, particularly the metaphor likening the individual to a pig, raises serious concerns about the professionalism of an upholder of the law, and the respect owed to public officials, regardless of their legal standing.

While the officer may not have intended to directly insult the position or person, such remarks can negatively influence public perception and undermine the decorum expected in official discourse. It is essential to allow the law to take its own course, obviously. But, while addressing allegations, those in authority should choose their words extremely carefully, ensuring that they reflect the dignity of their own role and that of the others involved.

To put things into perspective, Kumaraswamy, at the press conference had singled out ADGP M Chandra Sekhar and accused him of selectively targeting Opposition leaders to be in the good books of his political bosses. Kumaraswamy had alleged that Chandra Sekhar had been promised the rank of Police Commissioner of Bengaluru and the latter had even sought permission from the ADGP, Lokayukta, Manish Karbekar to carry out a probe against the staff at the Governor’s Secretariat regarding the “leak of communication between the Raj Bhavan and the Karnataka government”.

At the press conference, Kumaraswamy, says The Hindu, alleged that information about the prosecution sanction against him that the Karnataka government had sought had been leaked. He said that, in August this year, the Governor had asked the Lokayukta to throw light on how the information had been leaked and that, this month, Chandra Sekhar had suggested that the officials in the Governor’s office should be probed... He has the audacity to seek permission from the government to conduct a probe in (against) the Governor’s office,” The Hindu further quoted Kumaraswamy as saying.

Kumaraswamy also accused the ADGP of “creating fake documents” to prolong his deputation in the state and being involved in illegal activities in cahoots with a person who has 2,500 FIRs filed against him to extort money from realtors, adds The Hindu quoting Kumaraswamy. Kumaraswamy allegedly also said that he had decided to submit all these documents to the Union Home Secretary.

(The author of this article is a Defence, Aerospace & Political Analyst based in Bengaluru. He is also Director of ADD Engineering Components, India, Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. You can reach him at: girishlinganna@gmail.com)

(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own and do not reflect those of DNA)