Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers have been on a sit-in protest at Lt Governor's House.
Highlights
- AAP alleges Delhi's IAS officers have not been attending meetings
- Arvind Kejriwal asks Lieutenant Governor for a solution
- Anil Baijal's office says chief minister on "dharna without reason"
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and three of his cabinet colleagues who began a sit-in protest at Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's house on Monday evening spent a second night at his residence.
"We are here because we love Delhi and care for Delhi. We have worked very hard for Delhi and we want it to further improve. We feel shattered because many great initiatives are getting stuck. Let's improve our beloved Delhi, LG Sir. And let's do it together", tweeted Mr Kejriwal.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Kejriwal issued a video message to the people of Delhi saying he and his ministers were on "dharna" so they could get facilities and the government could conduct its work. Mr Kejriwal and his ministers had walked into Mr Baijal's house last evening, demanding that he help end the stand-off between Delhi's bureaucrats and the government and give clearance to a scheme for door-to-door delivery of rations for the poor.
One of the three ministers accompanying him, Satyendra Jain, has begun an indefinite fast, Mr Kejriwal tweeted on Monday morning. "Struggle continues," he said in another tweet, indicating that he was not about to leave.
The Chief Minister has also sent a letter to Lieutenant Governor, saying if the IAS officers did not end their "strike", the Delhi government would be forced to impose ESMA - a law to punish those who disrupt essential services.
"We are not sitting here for ourselves. We are sitting here for you (Delhiites) and for schools, water, mohalla clinics so that the people of Delhi can get facilities," Mr Kejriwal said in his video message. The officer's "strike", he said, has affected initiatives like setting up of mohalla clinics, building of drains in unauthorised colonies and release of funds to private schools under the economically weaker sections category.
The opposition Congress and BJP have called the protest by Mr Kejriwal and his ministers a drama.
The AAP government alleges that Delhi's IAS officers have not been attending meetings with ministers or picking up their calls since the alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash in February.
Anil Baijal's office put out a statement ripping into the Chief Minister for a "dharna without reason" and accusing him of "threatening" the Lt Governor. The communique also denied Mr Kejriwal's accusation that the IAS officers are on a virtual strike. Mr Baijal laid the onus of re-establishing good relations with the officers on the AAP government, and alleged that his advice on this matter has been disregarded.
The IAS association has also denied the allegations as "unwarranted and baseless".
In a tweet, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia pointed out that the whitewashing conducted in Delhi schools during summers has not been done. Satyendra Jain tweeted to say that the IAS officers have also stopped 'construction of mohalla clinics.
Mr Kejriwal's tussle with the Lieutenant-Governor stems from the fact that the government of Delhi, which is a Union territory, does not have control over land, police or law and order. Any decision of the Delhi government has to be signed off by the Lieutenant Governor. Mr Kejriwal's government accuses the Narendra Modi government of trying to control Delhi using these laws. It has also accused the Lieutenant-Governor of acting as the Centre's agent.
Last week, Mr Kejriwal and his party launched a campaign for the full statehood of Delhi, with the slogan,"L-G, Delhi Chhodo (Lieutenant Governor, Quit Delhi)".