Delhi minister on hunger strike as CM, others 'wait' to meet Lt Governor Anil Baijal, demanding directions to IAS officers to end their 'strike'
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, AAP leaders Satyendra Kumar Jain and Gopal Rai during the sit-in protest at Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's residence. Pic/PTI
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues, who spent the night at the lieutenant governor's office, yesterday dug in their heels with Health Minister Satyendar Jain beginning an indefinite hunger strike to press for their demands.
The AAP government's demands include a direction to IAS officers to end their "strike", action against those who have struck work for "four months". It has also asked the L-G to approve the proposal for doorstep delivery of rations. Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia, Development Minister Gopal Rai and Jain met Baijal at 5.30 pm on Monday and have since stayed on.
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After spending the entire night, Kejriwal released a video yesterday and said that the AAP ministers had 'no option' but to stage a sit-in as Lt Governor Anil Baijal was not paying heed to the Delhi government's demands "despite several requests".
The move drew criticism from the BJP's local unit. "Making mockery of Democracy, No Work only Drama (sic)," Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said on Twitter. The Delhi BJP chief said that he would lead a protest march to Kejriwal's residence at 10 am today over the water crisis being faced by the people of the national capital. Leader of opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta called the sit-in a way to "shirk work".
Officers have gone on a "partial strike" since the alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash on the intervening night of February 19-20, the CM's video said.
In the message, Kejriwal said that he and his ministers have been requesting the L-G since February 23 to issue directions to the IAS officers to end their "strike", but he was not paying heed to their demands.''The L-G's office slammed Kejriwal's sit-in, saying it was one more "dharna without reason". A statement, issued by Baijal's office, stated that the L-G was "threatened" to summon officers and issue directions to them to end their "strike" immediately.
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