Law-and-order System is Still Colonial: Kiran Bedi

July 31, 2026

Former IPS officer Kiran Bedi SAID that the country’s law-and-order system “is still rooted in colonialism”, citing the alleged police brutality during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led agitation against exam irregularities. Bedi, also the former Lt Governor of Puducherry, said that Ramlila Maidan, instead of Jantar Mantar, should be declared as the official site to hold protests in the national capital in order to avoid similar conflicts in the future. Here is the excerpts from the interview

Question: You were a part of the Anna Hazare-led Lokpal agitation at the Ramlila Maidan; what difference did you see in the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protests?

Kiran Bedi:
Their venue was wrong. Their venue too should have been Ramlila Ground. If the protest is brought to Parliament Street itself, then why would they not march to Parliament? We should now declare Ramlila Ground as the venue for all demonstrations where there is ample space and necessary facilities, including toilets, food, and other support.

We must also remember that Ramlila Maidan was not the first choice for protests. When I began my service, demonstrations were allowed right outside the Prime Minister’s residence, up to Teen Murti Marg. I witnessed this myself as a student. Over time, the protest venue was gradually shifted to Tughlaq Road, then further back, then to India Gate. Later, protests were removed from Rajpath and shifted to Jantar Mantar.

This venue is wrong and will always create problems. It is small and narrow and also closer to the business district, Connaught Place. That is why all markets have to be closed when such demonstrations take place.

Whenever an assembly is declared unlawful and people protest against that, force will be used because “unlawful” means tear gas, dispersal, and lathi charge. That is why I think the venue itself is wrong. We should rethink it.

Question: What are your views on the handling of the Gen Z agitation?

Kiran Bedi:
Our law and order system is still colonial. The use of lathi charge and directly deploying riot police should not be the first resort—it should be the last.

The first response should have been civil defence. They are young men and women who are trained and enrolled in every state, so why are they not being utilised? Students handling students would have reduced confrontation. There should be no lathis; civil defence personnel should instead have protective body gear.

Further, women police should have formed the second level of response after civil defence personnel. If the demonstration had taken place at Ramlila Maidan and had first been handled by civil defence and then women police, and if agitators still did not listen, only then could riot police have been deployed as a justified last resort.

Question: What was the approach of the police force during the 2011 agitation? Did the police resort to lathi charge then too, under the UPA regime?

Kiran Bedi:
I do not recall any situation where there was a lathi charge. I don’t remember such an incident.

Sections 144 and 188 were imposed, and we offered peaceful arrests. At Ramlila Maidan, we had ample space. Even at Jantar Mantar, if the protesters were on a hunger strike, it was peaceful. It was a peaceful protest, not a march.

Question: What was the attitude of the then UPA government towards the protest?

Kiran Bedi:
If the UPA government’s approach had been more proactive, the situation could have been prevented. If the Lokpal Bill had been introduced earlier, the movement would not have escalated to such an extent.

There was no need to put Anna Hazare through so much hardship because what was accepted later could have been accepted much earlier. We made every possible effort by meeting different ministers and were repeatedly given assurances by them. The draft that was eventually prepared could have been made much earlier.

Question: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured justice in paper leak cases. Do you have faith in the government’s intentions and assurances?

Kiran Bedi:
If we don’t trust the government, then whom should we trust? They are the final authority, and they are taking action.

They constituted the task force immediately and appointed highly capable people to it. However, the question is that it should not remain limited to testing alone; it should lead to broader educational reforms. That should be the next step.

Question: Was seeking former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation justified?

Kiran Bedi: The situation was brought to an extent which should not have been.

I was told that he himself had offered to resign when the issue had escalated. If that resignation had been accepted at the time, the situation could have been resolved then itself. It should not have been turned into an ego issue.

Had that happened, this situation could have been avoided. The issue had already affected all those students who wanted to appear for NEET or other competitive exams, and the damage was visible.

Question: Following the CJP, several such pressure groups are now being formed online. What are your views on this?

Kiran Bedi:
People have their own feelings, needs, demands, interests, planning, and vision. They cannot be stopped from expressing themselves.

The government will have to respond. It has to be responsive to people’s demands and understand what they are demanding and why. It should not see such expressions as criticism but instead engage with them constructively.

Governance should be responsive and pay attention to the views being put across on social media. It should distinguish between views that are destructive and those that are constructive.

This version is structured with clear section breaks, bold questions, and spacing between each question and answer for easier reading in an article or interview format.