Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday alleged that there was “de facto President’s rule in Delhi” even as his sit-in protest at Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal’s office entered the sixth day.
The chief minister, his deputy Manish Sisodia, and ministers Gopal Rai and Satyender Jain have been urging Baijal since Monday evening to instruct Indian Administrative Service officers to end their alleged strike and return to work. “I agree. It is de facto President’s rule in Delhi [through] IAS strike,” Kejriwal said in response to a tweet.
The government claims that the bureaucrats have been on a protest since February, when two Aam Aadmi Party MLAs allegedly assaulted Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash during a meeting at Kejriwal’s residence. The IAS Association, however, has claimed that the bureaucrats are not on strike.
Kejriwal on Saturday reiterated his allegation that IAS officers had been threatened to go off work. He appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ask the bureaucrats to end the strike, which has paralysed the government. “I have no rivalry with any individual,” the chief minister told News18. “One phone call from the [prime minister] can end this strike.”
Kejriwal, however, blamed the Centre for taking away his government’s powers, and claimed that he does not have the powers that his predecessor Sheila Dikshit had.
The Delhi High Court will hear lawyer Hari Nath Ram’s petition challenging the ministers’ protest. He alleged that the chief minister’s office has not been functioning since the protest started, and urged the court to order Kejriwal to discharge his responsibilities.
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