As Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and three Ministers occupied a visitors’ room in the Raj Niwas for the fourth day, BJP leaders continued their sit-in outside the Chief Minister’s office in the Delhi Secretariat for a second day.
A meeting chaired by Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal that would have ordinarily taken place in the conference room next to the site of the dharna was shifted to the residential portion of the premises.
The meeting held by Mr. Baijal to discuss measures to control the ongoing spike in pollution was attended by Environment and Forest Minister Imran Hussain, senior Delhi government officers and other stakeholders.
In the other part of the Raj Niwas, Mr. Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Ministers Gopal Rai and Satyendar Jain remained in the visitors’ room. The four Aam Aadmi Party leaders have said they won’t leave till the L-G ends the “strike” by officers and clears the government’s proposal for doorstep delivery of ration.
Leaders change clothes
Having received a change of clothes, their first since the sit-in began, the AAP leaders were not allowed to meet visiting family members. Mr. Kejriwal said in a tweet that his brother had come from Pune and was not allowed in. The Chief Minister’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal, said in a tweet that she and her mother-in-law were also not allowed to enter the Raj Niwas.
At the same time, BJP leaders continued their sit-in outside the Chief Minister’s office in the Delhi Secretariat for a second day. BJP MP Parvesh Verma, MLAs Vijender Gupta, Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Jagdish Pradhan and suspended AAP MLA Kapil Mishra demanded a meeting with the Chief Minister, who they accused of striking work.
The third floor landing of the secretariat had been taken over for the dharna, with banners hanging from railings. Mattresses had been brought in by the leaders and a television provided by the General Administration Department, a senior official said. The leaders had asked for access to a washroom with a shower, but the official said there was no such facility available.