Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday appealed to the people of Delhi to elect AAP MPs on all seven seats of Delhi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, so that they can push for granting full Statehood to Delhi.

Speaking at a press conference at his residence, Mr. Kejriwal said that the Supreme Court’s two-judge Bench’s decision on Thursday to refer the matter of who controls services — the elected government or the Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) — to a three-judge Bench was unfortunate. He said it was difficult for the elected government to function without having the power to transfer officers.

“There is one solution. The people of Delhi hold the key... I am appealing to the people of Delhi not to vote to elect a Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha elections. Vote for AAP on all seven seats and we will force whoever forms the government at the Centre to grant Delhi full Statehood,” Mr. Kejriwal said.

He also said that AAP government had suffered during the past four years due to the lack of power.

“The Chief Minister and other Ministers had to sit on a dharna for 10 days inside the L-G’s house to get a file cleared. If we have to sit on dharna for every file, how will the government function?” he said.

When asked about former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s comment that Delhi did not have unlimited powers under the Constitution, Mr. Kejriwal said he appealed to her not to make such statements.

“We do not even have 10% of the powers that her government had... However, in the past four years, we have done more than her government did in 15 years,” he said.

Meanwhile, the BJP hit out at Mr. Kejriwal over the promise of Statehood. Union Minister and former Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel argued that AAP seemed confused and was doing a disservice to the cause of Statehood.

“His negative politics of slinging mud against the Centre for not being able to govern and blaming it for his own mistakes, as well as the anarchic nature of his first term in office, have shown other political parties the danger of conferring full Statehood on the Capital,” Mr. Goel argued.

“There is not a single registered political party, which will throw its weight behind the demand for full Statehood for Delhi because AAP has shown that parties like it can wreak immense havoc to the democratic framework of the country if given charge of a full State,” he alleged further.

Delhi BJP chief and BJP MP from North-East Delhi, Manoj Tiwari, questioned the intentions behind Mr. Kejriwal’s demand.

“What has Mr. Kejriwal been able to achieve with the rights and authority that he already has? Someone demanding Statehood for Delhi, for instance, has not given go-ahead for prosecution sanction in a case relating to sedition, which is an offence against the State,” said Mr. Tiwari.

Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Legislative Assembly Vijender Gupta alleged that the Chief Minister and AAP were attempting to save face by resurrecting the issue of Statehood for Delhi.

“This is just another way for a government, which has failed to deliver any governance throughout its term in office, to try and remain relevant; another gimmick like the promises made by AAP in its 70-point manifesto,” Mr. Gupta argued.