Govt is ignoring key issues, water crisis: Opposition

NEW DELHI: The three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and Aam Aadmi Party ministerturned-rebel Kapil Mishra, who are on a counter protest outside the chief minister’s office at Delhi secretariat for the last three days, said they would continue their hunger strike.

Asking the chief minister and his other ministers to resume work, the four accused Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues of neglecting Delhi’s water crisis.

The allegation came a day after a local councillor’s brother was shot dead following a dispute over laying a water-pipeline connection in Delhi’s Sangam Vihar.

The area houses one of the country’s largest unauthorised colonies where the government has failed to provide piped water connection to all houses, the BJP leaders said.

“Water crisis has reached such a point that people are being murdered in the city. Our chief minister is busy doing dharna. Kejriwal should stop lying to people that bureaucrats are on strike. Officers go for meetings at midnight, budget is prepared and questions in the Delhi assembly are being answered,” leader of opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta said.

Gupta criticised Kejriwal for not talking about the alleged assault on the chief secretary. “You (Kejriwal) are not even mentioning anything about the assault. You are not trying to speak to officers to remove the fears within them. Will Kejriwal give an assurance that the incident which happened with Prakash won’t be repeated again?”

The four leaders began a hunger strike from Friday, demanding Kejriwal returns to work. Gupta said Delhi is suffering a constitutional crisis and the city administration has collapsed. “As humidity and heat is rising, people of Delhi are facing power cuts and then the air of the city is worsening. Who will take care of the city if the CM and ministers don’t,” said BJP Delhi MP Parvesh Verma.

Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said that both the Centre and the state government were ignoring the plight of the people of Delhi. “This Ac-room dharna needs to stop. The people of Delhi are fighting against the rising pollution levels, there is no electricity and water in houses and the ministers are doing such drama,” Maken said.

This strike is being orchestrated by the Bjpruled central government through their LG. The reason is that despite obstacles being created by the central government the state govt has done wonderful work. ARVIND KEJRIWAL, Delhi chief minister