I can be stubborn, but not violent: Arvind Kejriwal breaks silence on chief secy row

NEW DELHI: In his first direct comment on the alleged attack on chief secretary Anshu Prakash, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday that he can be stubborn but not violent since only cowards resort to violence. In a bid to persuade government employees to end the stalemate between the AAP government and the bureaucracy, a meeting was held at the CM’s residence where Kejriwal spoke to a group of employees belonging to the Delhi Administration Subordinate Service and some unions.
“We will never indulge in violence, that too with our own people. We will argue and fight but we will not indulge in violence,” said Kejriwal.

The government claimed the meeting was a precursor to a thaw in the cold war on since February 20. But that remains a distant possibility with silent protests being held daily by bureaucrats and government employees.

In fact, within hours of the meeting, the president of Delhi Government Employees Welfare Association, Dayanand Singh, who was involved in the latest initiative, was suspended from his post. The general secretary of the association, Deepak Bhardwaj, said that the decision was taken at an emergency meeting since “Singh had breached the trust of the employees by arbitrarily attending the meeting with the political executive against the decision of the association.”

A showcause notice has been issued to Singh. He will remain suspended till the next meeting of the association on March 23. The association made it clear that Singh was not authorised to issue any statement on its behalf. Singh called the suspension illegal.

Singh, also president of the joint council of all employees organisations of Delhi, is seen to have deviated from the stand of the joint forum – association of all Delhi government employees, including IAS (AGMUT cadre) and DANICS officers — which wants an apology from CM Kejriwal and deputy CM Manish Sisodia for ending the stalemate and boycotting of most of the meetings with the political executive.

“It is the court which will decide the case of the alleged assault,” said Singh. In a two-page letter submitted to Kejriwal, Singh said that in the present scenario, a dialogue was the best way to end the tussle. “The CM has assured us that he will create an atmosphere of dialogue and ensure safety and dignity of all employees. We have decided to provide cooperation to the government towards this goal,” he said.

Since earlier Singh had insisted on an apology as a condition for starting a dialogue, his reaching out to the government appears like a crack in the unity of the joint forum. “We continue to stick to our demands and all the unions are united on this,” said Manisha Saxena, secretary IAS (AGMUT) officers association. The forum reiterated that it will continue to work only through formal written communication and condemned individuals who it claimed were trying to spread the impression that the forum has “diluted” its stand.

Social welfare minister Rajendra Pal Gautam, who was tasked by Kejriwal to reach out to the employees for a rapprochement, said: “The employees who came for the meeting have made it clear that they are with the government. They put forward some demands regarding their service which will be considered by the government.” Gautam said the government has made efforts to reach out to the bureaucrats, including chief secretary Anshu Prakash, but they did not show any eagerness. “It is not our fault if they have not come forward for a rapprochement,” hesaid.

The joint council of all employees organizations of Delhi is a group of various employees associations. In its proposal to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, the association demanded that any dialogue between the bureaucrats and the political executives should be held in an atmosphere of decency and brotherhood.