Delhi chief secy attends meeting with cops in tow
NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash on Tuesday joined the pre-budget meeting called by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal with cops in tow.
Sources informed that more than ten police officials were present outside the meeting room guarding any entry. Prakash had alleged last week that two Aam Aadmi Party MLAS assaulted him in Kejriwal’s house.
This was the first official meeting attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash after their controversial midnight meeting at the former’s residence.
Finance Secretary SN Sahay and GAD Secretary MK Parida also attended the meeting.
Ahead of the Cabinet meeting, Anshu Prakash had written to Arvind Kejriwal, informing him that he would attend the meeting, based on the assumption that the chief minister will ensure that there is no physical attack and verbal assault on the officers.
Officials in the national capital, including those belonging to the IAS, DANICS and DASS cadre, are communicating with the ministers only through written means since the alleged assault on the chief secretary at Chief Minister Kejriwal’s official residence during a meeting on February 1.
In another development, the Delhi Court has refused to grant bail to AAP legislator Prakash Jarwal who was arrested in connection with the alleged assault on the Delhi, chief secretary.
NEW DELHI: Scores of university students held a demonstration at Central Secretariat Metro station on Tuesday, demanding a rollback of the hike in Metro fares and concessional passes for them. A group of Delhi University students were detained when they were marching towards Rashtrapati Bhavan with their demand to rollback metro fare hike.
The protesting students, who were bundled up in a bus by police, snapped the wires of the vehicle's doors and forced it to stop and staged another demonstration on the road.
Delhi University's All India Students Association (aisa) had called for a protest march on Tuesday from Central Secretariat Metro Station to Rashtrapati Bhavan at 1.30 pm, demanding a rollback of metro fare hike along with a slew of other demands. Delhi Police, however, detained over 40 students and took them in a bus from Gate 3 of Central Secretariat Metro Station.
The students cut the wires of automatic doors and forcibly stopped the bus near Chelmsford Club. They got down from it and continued their protest demanding rollback of metro fare hike, a demand they have been raising for over two months now. AISA Delhi vice-president Madhurima Kundu alleged molestation by an official of Delhi Police, which has denied the charge. "When we were taken into the bus, women police carried me by legs," Kundu said, and alleged that a male cop touched her inappropriately. She said she can recognise the person and would lodge a complaint against him.
Kawalpreet Kaur, president of AISA Delhi University, said, "From meeting DMRC authorities to the PMO, we went everywhere with our demands but nobody listened. Today, we were taking our plea to the President of this county but we weren't allowed instead we are detained and taken to different Police Station. Such a situation forces us to ask whose country is this anyway?"
AISA had earlier laid seige to Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station, protested near MHRD and met various officials and leaders including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal raising their demand. AISA members said some of them were taken to Mandir Marg and others to Parliament Street police stations.