Days after her 'thulla' remark set off an unsavoury buzz, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta says it was not her intention to belittle or denigrate police personnel, asserting that she has huge respect for them.
In an exclusive interview with PTI on Wednesday evening, the 50-year-old chief minister also ascribed her off-colour personal remarks in the past against opposition leaders to her lack of maturity then, saying she does not mind accepting her mistakes.
"There have been mistakes by me on different platforms. For instance, during my speech in the Delhi Assembly, I used the word 'thulla' while narrating a story. It was not my intention to harm police personnel or jawans. I have immense respect for them," she said.
'Thulla' is a slang often used in the streets to refer to lower-rank policemen.
The chief minister said they work for 24 hours a day in the service of the nation, adding that she cannot explain how much respect she has for police personnel, who day in and day out, without caring for food, sleep and their own families, are available on one phone call and "we expect them to do their job".
The opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has strongly criticised Gupta for her remarks in the Assembly on March 28, which it called were an insult to police personnel.
"Sometime, we commit some mistakes without any intention. When you realise after a while that you have made a mistake, you should always remember that this kind of mistake should not happen again in the future.... I do not mind accepting my mistakes," the chief minister said.
A first-time MLA, Gupta led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form the government in Delhi after more than 26 years, defeating the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP that ruled the national capital for 10 years.
Asked about her controversial comments on social media against opposition leaders in the past and whether those statements could have been made in a different way, Gupta said every person gradually attains a level of maturity in life.
"When we used to speak during childhood, we perhaps would not have much command on our language. As we grow up, we attain some level of maturity and further, we attain more maturity and better understanding," she said.
It happens in everyone's life, she said, adding that it is no different in her life and that she is not fool-proof.
Asked if she is the kind of person who is willing to change her opinion with time, Gupta said, "I am a person who convinces others or gets convinced by them. It is not that I say only what I have to say and do not listen to others."
For example, she said she has started a drive against posters and wall-writing on public properties even though she herself may have been responsible for the haphazard displays that are an eyesore and diminish the orderliness of the city.
Now that she has the responsibility of Delhi, she feels the city looks ugly with posters and wall-writings, Gupta added.
"When I decided that Delhi should not be like that, I first of all apologised to the people of Delhi because it was a mistake on my part too when some of my supporters would have pasted my posters (on public properties) and done wall-writing. I realised that it was wrong.
"Now, I say that we have to make Delhi neat and clean. I started with myself, saying we will not paste posters. I have requested all our MLAs and workers that we have to move towards a clean and beautiful Delhi and avoid doing it," she said.
Asked about her style of functioning, Gupta said she wants to take the public and the society along in her mission.
The city will not improve only with the efforts of the government and the chief minister, she said, pointing out that the task of 'Viksit Delhi', 'Swachh Delhi', 'Swasth Delhi' is not a job for one person and every citizen of Delhi will have to be associated with it.
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