Jain begins fast inside L- G house
Satyendar Jain begins indefinite fast
New Delhi: Delhi Cabinet minister Satyendra Jain, who had been camping at Raj Niwas since Monday, began an indefinite fast on Tuesday, escalating the stand- off between the Kejriwal- led Delhi government and L- G Anil Baijal.
Delhi Cabinet minister Satyendra Jain, who had been camping at Raj Niwas since Monday, began an indefinite fast on Tuesday, escalating the stand- off between the AAP government and lieutenant- governor Anil Baijal.
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Cabinet minister Gopal Rai continued to sit in at Raj Niwas for the second day on Tuesday
The AAP government’s demands include a direction to IAS officers to end their “strike” and action against those who have struck work for “four months”.
The unprecedented move came under severe criticism from the Opposition BJP and the Congress. However, the AAP maintained that their fight would continue and they would not get “bogged down” till their demands were met. The party also plans to take the protest a step further as it has decided that all its MLAs will march to the L- G’s office on Wednesday from the CM’s residence.
Mr Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia, development minister Gopal Rai and Mr Jain met Mr Baijal at 5.30 pm on Monday and have since stayed on.
After spending the entire night in the anteroom of the L- G’s office, Mr Kejriwal also released a video on Tuesday and said that the AAP ministers had “no option” but to stage a sit- in as the L- G was not paying heed to the government’s demands “despite several requests”.
In a tweet, Mr Kejriwal also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “I am really appalled at LG’s stubborn refusal to end IAS strike and his justifications for ongoing strike. Wonder what are PMO’s instructions to him,” he said.
It was the first time in the history of Delhi that the chief minister and his Cabinet colleagues spent the night at the L- G’s office to press for their demands, officials said.
Mr Kejriwal on Tuesday morning tweeted, “Satyender Jain starts indefinite fast”. Mr Jain began his fast at the L- G’s office at 11 am. The L- G, however, did not turn up in his office on Tuesday.
On Monday night, the chief minister, who is a diabetic, had to take insulin during the sit- in and got “specific food” from his home, sources said. “My dear Delhiites, good morning. Struggle continues,” Mr Kejriwal tweeted at 6.27 am.
A number of AAP MLAs, party leaders and workers have also camped near the L- G’s office and the police has barricaded the area.
According to the AAP government, officers have not been attending meetings with the ministers and not picking up their calls due to which the people’s work was suffering. Officers have gone on a “partial strike” since the alleged assault on chief secretary Anshu Prakash on the intervening night of February 19- 20, it said.