New Delhi:
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government's helpline in Delhi for complaints against corrupt officers received nearly 4,000 calls in its first seven hours.
Today, Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal announced that all AAP ministers will sit outside their offices in the Delhi government headquarters everyday, to try and resolve people's complaints.
"This Saturday all ministers will sit in front of the secretariat. After that a minister will sit every day between 9.30 and 11 am. Urgent grievances will be solved over the phone immediately," the 45-year-old chief minister said.
On its first day, the AAP's helpline was deluged with calls but only 53 cases were taken up for action.
"A girl came to me and said please ask my boyfriend to marry me. Even I cannot help such cases," Mr Kejriwal joked as he explained how calls to the helpline had to be sifted.
Citizens have been asked to dial the helpline number, (011) 27357169 between 8 am and 10 pm for any corruption complaint. A team of 15 experts advise genuine callers on conducting a sting operation. Till now, only 38 callers have agreed to go ahead with it.
The AAP says the evidence from the sting will be transferred to anti-corruption units, and each case will be processed within 24 hours.
From tomorrow, the helpline is likely to be a four-digit number that will be easier to remember.
The one-year-old AAP came to power in Delhi riding on massive popular support for its anti-corruption campaign and its promise of clean politics. A dedicated helpline against corruption was in the party's manifesto, besides an audit of power distribution companies and 700 litres of free water to every household.
The party now plans to convert growing public anger over corruption into votes in the national elections, due by May.