NEW DELHI - Minister of State for Home Ajay Maken Tuesday slammed the Punjab goverment for blatantly misusing the police machinery to settle political scores and further its political agenda.

A statement released by Maken’s office urged the state government to refrain from misusing the police for political vendetta.

“Ajay Maken slammed the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of Punjab for blatantly misusing the state police machinery to settle political scores and further its political agenda,” the statement said.

Misuse of police force not only raises doubts about the credibility of administration in the minds of people but also adversely affects normal policing, Maken said following a recent visit to the state on behalf of elected representatives and civil society organisations.

Referring to Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s remarks at the recent conference for police chiefs in the capital, Maken said he too had called for speeding up of police reforms and the setting up of a Police Establishment Board (PEB) that would decide all transfers, postings, promotions and service related matters of police officials.

Pointing at the state of policing in the state, Maken further said the state government had not paid heed to the directives of the Supreme Court.

The directives related to setting up of a Commission to ensure the state does not exercise unwarranted influence or pressure on the police and constituting a Police Complaints Authority (PCA) at the district level to look into complaints against Police officers.

The Punjab government had neither adhered to the models suggested by the court nor had enumerated upon the composition and functions of PCAs in the districts, the statement said.

Similarly, whether it was the creation of a PEB, provisions for fixed tenure of officers or selection of the director general of police (DGP), the government had tried to hoodwink the court as well as the people by leaving several loopholes to suit the political interests of the ruling coalition.

Maken was accompanied by Pratap Singh Bajwa, MP, and Mohinder Singh Keypee, the state Congress president, as they visited victims of alleged police atrocities across Amritsar, Taran Tarn and Gurdaspur districts.

He also interacted with scores of people and representatives of NGOs and civil society and assured them that upon returning to Delhi he would take up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the home minister.