Govt woos Bedi, top cop says she won't stay

New Delhi: The Union Government is in no mood to accept India's first woman IPS officer Kiran Bedi's request for voluntary retirement.

Instead, the Union Home Ministry is now exploring ways to accommodate Bedi in a top position in the national security setup as her grouse against the government was the appointment of YS Dadwal as Delhi Police Commissioner by overlooking her.

Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta dropped enough hints about his ministry's plans to handle the issue when he remarked at an official function that the government "has decided to put a big new responsibility on your (Bedi's) shoulders and that means anchoring the National Police Mission."

Gupta made the mention while addressing the Foundation Day celebrations of Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) where Bedi is currently Director General.

Gupta, however, in his speech at the BPRD Foundation Day did not make it clear whether Bedi's services would be utilised when she would continue to be in service or after accepting her VRS application, which she had put in recently.

Bedi has, however, kind of spurned the offer, saying: “My request for voluntary retirement stays.” She said she was looking forward to the acceptance of her voluntary retirement as she would not like to work 'for' the government anymore.

"I now look forward to working 'with' the government and not 'for' the government," Bedi, who forwarded her application about a month ago, told PTI.

"I am grateful for the recognition. However, I am looking forward to the acceptance of my voluntary retirement by the government," she said.

"There is a difference between the two routes. Also, no one is indispensable. The irony is if I was dispensable for a particular position, I can surely be dispensable for this one too," Bedi said in an apparent reference to the appointment of Dadwal as Delhi Police Commissioner.