Sharing his concern over the ongoing protest by Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday asked why Delhi and Puducherry voters were “inferior to other States”.
The Puducherry Chief Minister’s dharna outside Raj Niwas continued for a fourth day, while Puducherry Lieutenant-Governor Kiran Bedi attended the Delhi Police’s Raising Day event here.
Mr. Kejriwal, who along with three Ministers in his Cabinet had staged a 10-day sit-in inside Delhi’s Raj Niwas in 2018, said in a tweet, “An elected CM @vnarayanasami is being forced to sleep on road since last three nights. What kind of democracy is this? Those elected by the voters are begging in front of those defeated. Why is vote of those living in Delhi n Puducherry inferior to other states? [sic]”
‘Autocratic’ behaviour
Ms. Bedi, a retired IPS officer, had been the BJP’s chief ministerial face in the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections, which the AAP won. She and the Congress Chief Minister of Puducherry have been at loggerheads, with Mr. Narayanasamy now protesting against her alleged “autocratic” behaviour.
While the AAP has been at loggerheads with the L-G in Delhi, the Congress has hit out against Mr. Kejriwal over the tussle.
AAP spokesperson and Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj said in a tweet on Saturday that if the Congress came out in support of its CM in Puducherry, then Mr. Kejriwal would be proved right. He alleged that this was the reason that Congress president Rahul Gandhi had “stopped” paying attention to the protest.