CS assault row: LG Baijal briefs Rajnath Singh

NEW DELHI: Delhi LG Anil Baijal on Saturday briefed Union home minister Rajnath Singh on the ongoing tussle between the AAP government and the bureaucracy in Delhi, with sources indicating that the former likened the situation to an impasse that was bound to affect governance in the state.
During the 30-minute meeting, the LG apprised the home minister on his discussions with Delhi government bureaucrats who were visibly agitated at the alleged assault on chief secretary Anshu Prakash by AAP MLAs at chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence, as well as an AAP delegation that complained to him about the refusal of bureaucrats to attend regular meetings convened by the ministers.

“The sense of the LG’s briefing was that things had come to a pass with neither of the parties willing to back down. In fact, the AAP leaders seemed to approaching the issue with aggression, rather than try and sort out the matter even without the chief minister offering an apology,” said a senior officer of the home ministry.

Singh is believed to have told Baijal to keep a firm eye on the situation. However, sources said the tussle is affecting governance in Delhi state and will have to be sorted out sooner and later as options are running out.

Baijal also briefed Singh on the Delhi Police investigation so far into the alleged assault on Prakash.

This was for the first time that the LG had met the home minister since the incident at Kejriwal’s residence on Monday night.