Day five of Chief Minister Arvind Kejrwal and his Cabinet colleagues’ sit-in protest began with the former hoping Prime Minister Narendra Modi will intervene in ending the impasse between his government and the bureaucracy.
This, even as Mr. Kejriwal, in a video message, said he had written to Mr. Modi again asking if he, despite being the Prime Minister, would be able to run his government if the bureaucracy didn’t adhere to his instructions of attending meetings.
“We have spent four nights waiting at the LG’s office but he hasn’t given us even four minutes of his time... hope the prime minister will pay some attention,” Mr. Kejriwal tweeted on Friday morning.
The CM added that this was the fourth day of his colleague and Health Minister Satyendar Jain’s hunger strike and the third day of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s.
In a video message later, Mr. Kejriwal said he had written to Mr. Modi again and asked him what he would have done had he been in his shoes. “...Would you have been able to run the government if bureaucrats didn’t turn up for your meetings?” the CM said he asked Mr. Modi in his letter on Friday.
“It’s been five days and instead of helping us ensure that the strike by IAS officers is brought to an end, you are standing by and letting even the Delhi Secretariat be taken over by leaders from your own party who have sat there in support of the bureaucracy’s strike,” he alleged.
AAP to launch campaign
Meanwhile, in its attempt to take its “sit-in andolan” to the people, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will be launching a door-to-door signature campaign beginning Monday.
“We will reach out to one million households for a signature beginning Monday...demanding that the strike which is crippling Delhi be made to end and demanding doorstep delivery of ration and statehood for Delhi,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
The Chief Minister alleged the current situation was due to the fact that the BJP had “nothing to say” in response to “the feats accomplished” by his government in sectors such as education and health over the last three years.
Citing delay "in seven significant and continuing government projects" including the de-silting of drains, Mr. Kejriwal had written to Mr. Modi on Tuesday requesting that IAS officers allegedly striking work since mid-February, following the attack on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash at the CM’s residence, be made to come back to work.
“We pray that you will step in for the sake of the people of Delhi and remedy the situation,” the CM had written.