Karnataka police blame CM HD Kumaraswamy for ignoring Auradkar report

BENGALURU: Police personnel in the state are unhappy as they feel they received a raw deal in the State Budget 2019-20. Their main grouse is that the report by additional director general of police (training and recruitment) Raghavendra Auradkar recommending hike in their basic pay has not been considered.
The policemen, who have restrictions in hitting the streets to vent their ire, took to the social media to register their protest against the government’s failure to implement the report.One of the forwarded messages on a cop’s cellphone read: “Thanks Kumaranna for neglecting Aurdakar report. Now, god will have to save cops”.
Auradkar, who was directed to look into the needs of policemen, submitted a report in September 2016 recommending a hike of 30 per cent in the basic salary of all officials. G Parameshwara, home minister in the previous Siddaramaiah government, had promised to implement the recommendations which will cost the exchequer an additional Rs 875 crore.
Police personnel were hopeful as chief minister HD Kumaraswamy had expressed signs of sympathy—during Siddaganga seer’s funeral, he stated: “I can see that our police work day and night, face hardships”, assuring to implement the report.
If the recommendations were implemented, the pay scale of the cops would have jumped to one promotion and a salary between Rs 6,500 and Rs 8,500. Police constables would have got the salary of head constables and head constables that of assistant sub inspectors.
A constable said: “We expected a major announcement in this budget, but nothing has happened.”
A few messages had attachments of copper vessels (chombu) which is used in a lighter way to say that one gets nothing.
“The recommendations were made after taking into consideration the payscale fixed to police in states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Compared to other states, Karnataka is in eighth place. It’ll be in fifth place if the report is implemented,” sources said.