Why hasn’t L-G met Kejriwal, asks AAP on 4th day of sit-in
As Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his three ministers continued their sit-in at the L-G office since Monday, the AAP on Thursday attacked Lt Governor Anil Baijal, wondering whether he did not have even "four minutes" to meet them in the last four days.
Addressing a press conference here, Rajya Sabha MP and senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh alleged that nobody was being allowed to meet the chief minister during his sit-in at the L-G Secretariat and asked if he had been arrested.
Kejriwal and his three cabinet colleagues – Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai and Satyendar Jain – have stayed put at the L-G's office since Monday evening over their demands, including a direction to officers to end their "strike" and action against those who have struck work. They also want the L-G to approve the proposal for doorstep delivery of ration.
Singh alleged the "strike" by IAS officers was "at the be- hest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and under the protection of Lt Governor Anil Baijal".
"The chief minister has been staging sit-in at the L-G Secretariat for the last four days. We want to ask whether he (Baijal) could not spare even four minutes to meet him in the last four days," Singh told reporters here.
"I fail to understand as to why nobody is being allowed to meet the chief minister.
"I and his (Kejriwal's) brother wanted to meet the CM, but permission was denied. L-G and Delhi Police should make it clear whether he has been put under house arrest, or if he has been arrested," the Rajya Sabha MP asked.
He said that the party has sought an appointment with President Ram Nath Kovind, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Lt Governor Anil Baijal over the IAS officers' strike issue.
However, the IAS officers' association has claimed that no officer has been on strike and no work has been affected.
Earlier in the day, Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to end the IAS officers' "strike" claiming that the Lt Governor was doing "nothing" to break the impasse.
In his letter to Modi, the chief minister cited instances when government work was stalled as the officers were not attending meetings with ministers for the past three months.
The sit-in on Thursday received more political support including from Tamil actor Kamal Haasan and parties like the RJD, CPI (M) and the CPI which accused the BJPled central government of creating hurdles in the work of AAP government.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Thursday agreed to hear on June 18 a plea seeking to declare the sit-in by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues as unconstitutional and illegal.
Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is protesting around the national capital to divert attention from its failures.
"The AAP has failed on every front, be it water, electricity, etc. Arvind Kejriwal Ji, who only talks big, has failed completely and in an attempt to hide his failures he has resorted to protests," BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain told ANI.
BJP spokesperson and MP Meenakshi Lekhi also shared similar views over Kejriwal-led protests, labelling them as being a distraction for the various issues prevailing in Delhi.