Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said he and three of his ministers in the Aam Aadmi Party government met Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and asked him to tell protesting officers of the Indian Administrative Services to resume work. The bureaucrats have been on a protest after two AAP MLAs allegedly assaulted Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash during a meeting at Kejriwal’s residence in February.
Kejriwal said he, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, and ministers Satyender Jain and Gopal Rai had also asked Baijal to punish the striking officers. They also asked him to approve the state government’s scheme for doorstep delivery of rations.
Later, Kejriwal retweeted a journalist who claimed that Baijal had refused to accede to the Delhi government’s demands. The journalist also said that Kejriwal and his ministers would not leave the lieutenant governor’s house until the demands were met.
The chief minister claimed that the lieutenant governor’s office had threatened the striking IAS officers of “dire consequences” if they rejoined work. Sisodia alleged that Baijal was the “mastermind” behind the strike.
“The officers have been on strike for four months,” Kejriwal said at a press conference earlier in the day. “In private, they say there is no demand and that they are being threatened to continue the strike. It has been orchestrated by the Prime Minister’s Office and coordinated by the lieutenant governor.” The AAP also announced a “lieutenant governor, quit Delhi” campaign from June 17.
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