Chaos at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's junta durbar on Saturday
Give security to the "Aam Aadmi" first, said
Arvind Kejriwal today as the Uttar Pradesh government said he would be given top level Z category security whether he likes it or not.
"Security should not be given to me, security should be given to the Aam Aadmi (common man) first," he told reporters.
The 45-year-old leader has been given 30 security personnel at his home in Kaushambi, Ghaziabad, at the orders of the state's Akhilesh Yadav government. Two head constables and eight constables will be posted outside his house at all times, besides two Personal Security Officers. The Chief Minister will also be followed by two escort cars with armed personnel when he is in Ghaziabad.
The Chief Minister also been given 'discreet' security cover in Delhi, where his "Janata Durbar", or public meeting along with other ministers outside the Delhi Secretariat, ended in chaos on Saturday.
"No more Janta Durbars, I will meet people once a week, " Mr Kejriwal said. "People can post their grievances online. We will set up a call centre; people can also send in their complaints via post."
Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had said that Mr Kejriwal was being protected by security men without his knowledge. "He needs security to keep questionable elements in crowds away from him," said a Delhi Police source.
Mr Kejriwal had turned down the Ghaziabad police's offer for security cover, even after the office of his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) just a kilometre from his home was attacked and vandalized by a mob last week, allegedly to protest against a remark by AAP leader Prashant Bhushan calling for a referendum in Kashmir on the army for internal security.
Mr Kejriwal has repeatedly said his party will end "VIP culture", symbolized by heavy security and vehicles with red beacons or lal batti.