From Right to Left: PWD Minister Satyendar Jain, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kerjiwal, Dy CM Manish Sisodia and Labour Minister Gopal Rai.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is staging a sit-in at the Lieutenant Governor’s office along with his cabinet colleagues, announced his second night stay there. “Our 2nd nite at LG House. We r here becoz. We luv Del n we care for Del. We hv worked v hard for Del. We want Del to further improve. We feel shattered becoz many great initiatives getting stuck. Lets improve our beloved Del, LG Sir. N lets do it togethr (sic),” he tweeted.
They are demanding L-G Anil Baijal to act against agitating IAS officials and approve the doorstep delivery of ration — a pet project of the AAP government. Following a brief meeting with Baijal at 5.30 pm on Monday, Kejriwal, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, PWD Minister Satyendar Jain and Labour Minister Gopal Rai refused to leave the waiting room of the L-G office.
Kejriwal alleged that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the L-G were instigating a “rebellion” against the elected government by “coordinating” the ongoing agitation that began following the alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash on February 19.
The Raj Niwas issued a statement alleging that the CM “threatened” the L-G, demanding that he summon the officers at Raj Niwas and end the “so-called strike”. “In response, it was reiterated by L-G that there is no strike and in his continued interactions with officers, it has been informed that the atmosphere of mistrust and fear continues and no sincere attempts to resolve the differences have been made so far,” the statement said, adding that it was in the sequence of “dharna without any reason”.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is staging a sit-in at the Lieutenant Governor's office along with his cabinet colleagues, announced his second night stay there. "Our 2nd nite at LG House. We r here becoz. We luv Del n we care for Del. We hv worked v hard for Del. We want Del to further improve. We feel shattered becoz many great initiatives getting stuck. Lets improve our beloved Del, LG Sir. N lets do it togethr (sic)," he tweeted.
In support of Arvind Kejriwal, AAP leaders and workers on Tuesday camped outside the Delhi CM's residence at Civil Lines. The Delhi CM and his cabinet colleagues have been staging a sit-in at the Lieutenant Governor's office.
All AAP Leaders, MLAs, Councillors & volunteers will March to LG House tomorrow at 4 PM.
"I am really appalled at LG’s stubborn refusal to end IAS strike and his justifications for ongoing strike. Wonder what are PMO’s instructions to him," he tweeted.
Cabinet Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam accused PM Modi of deceiving the people of Delhi by making false promises on full statehood to Delhi.
"Modi had promised to the people of Delhi that "make me pm, I will give Delhi a full state status." The people made them pm but they were deceived by the people of Delhi," he tweeted.
Doctors assess the health condition of Satyendar Jain in the waiting room outside L-G's office. Meanwhile, CM said AAP is prepared for any kind of struggle for the rights of the people of Delhi.
Due to the recalcitrant attitude of L-G, he is not ready to agree to anything. All works are pending including CCTV project, hospitals, mohalla clinics. This is why we are protesting: Satyendar Jain
We have tried everything possible from our side to resolve this. Now, whatever initiative will be taken it will have to come from L-G or PMO's side: Sanjya Singh.
The promise we made regarding the installation of CCTV cameras is not yet fulfilled because it hasn't been sanctioned despite repeatedly sending the file for approval...We want to stop the loot happening under the guise of distribution of ration by implementing the doorstep delivery scheme. But the LG and other officers are sitting on the files: Sanjay Singh.
We want to work for the poor but the prime minister is using LG as a pawn to stop us. LG might just be a pawn but the mastermind is Narendra Modi: AAP Leader Sanjay Singh.
Our mohalla clinic model is the most successful in the country. There is a concerted attempt to hinder its progress, he added.
In his video message, Kejriwal accused L-G Baijal of not acting against the striking IAS officers despite repeated appeals from his government. He alleged that the officers have been on strike for the last four months. They don't attend meetings, don't answer calls or reply to messages, he claimed.
The Delhi CM said the people of Delhi of suffering due to the strike. The officers, Kerjiwal said, have stopped disbursal of funds meant for public works. He also alleged that the L-G threatened a few IAS officers against ending their strike.
PWD Minister Satyendar Jain is on an indefinite fast, says Arvind Kejriwal. The Delhi Chief Minister also released a video message from outside L-G's office.
Countering L-G Baijal's claim that the government made no effort to reconcile with the agitating bureaucrats, the AAP released a 'list of efforts' made by Council of Minister to end IAS strike. The party claimed that since February, the government approached the L-G eight times to diffuse the situation.
Manish Sisodia had yesterday said that he met and wrote to the L-G five times about the IAS officers' strike but he did "nothing" to end it. "How can elected govt work, if Hon LG supports IAS officers strike like this," he tweeted from Raj Niwas last evening.
The AAP government and the bureaucracy have been at loggerheads since the alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by AAP MLAs at Kejriwal's residence on the intervening night of February.
Senior Aam Aadmi Party leaders Sanjay Singh, Atishi Marlena and Saurabh Bharadwaj to address a press conference at 12 noon today.
On the approval of doorstep delivery of ration, one of the demands AAP has been making, rebel MLA Kapil Mishra claims the file never came back to the LG's office.
"The file has been lying on the table of Kerjiwal's minister, Imran Hussain, for three months. Using the same file as an excuse, Kejriwal has been lying on the sofa inside LG's office since last night. The file never came back to the LG," he tweeted.
Kejriwal, who is diabetic, took insulin and food from home yesterday.
AAP wants L-G Baijal to invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), if necessary, against the striking officers. The act prohibits those employed in essential services from striking. If invoked, police have the power to arrest, without a warrant, anybody violating the provisions of the Act.
AAP claims that it has been 112 days since any IAS officer attended a meeting called by a minister. The party leaders have been urging L-G Baijal to end the 'strike' and take 'exemplary action' against those who have stalled government work til now. "In addition, Hon'ble LG has not given permission for doorstep delivery of ration. This is a revolutionary step to provide ration to poor people. We urge Hon'ble LG to immediately give approval to the same."