File photo of Arvind Kejriwal meeting PM Narendra Modi after taking office
Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to meet Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying he was "too busy," the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said today.
"We have been asking for time for 10 days, we were informed that PM was occupied with other national responsibilities," Mr Kejriwal's adviser Nagendra Sharma told reporters.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said PM Modi's office said if there was anything "urgent," the Chief Minister could meet Finance Minister Arun Jaitley or Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
Mr Kejriwal had written to PM Modi 10 days ago seeking an appointment. His party says he wanted to discuss his government's intense power struggle with Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, who represents the Centre in Delhi.
"The PM has time for everything else, for clicking selfies and he has no time for the chief minister of Delhi," groused an AAP leader.
The Chief Minister met Rajnath Singh but the meeting was "not satisfactory," said the leader.
On Monday, the Kejriwal government lost the latest round of its raging battle with the Lieutenant Governor. A court said Mr Jung's nominee MK Meena would remain the head of Delhi's anti-corruption agency and rejected the AAP government's plea to stop him from entering his office.
Mr Meena's selection by the Lieutenant Governor two weeks ago was unacceptable to the Delhi government, which called the officer corrupt and said its own candidate SS Yadav, would continue to be the chief of Delhi's Anti-Corruption Bureau. The government said Mr Meena would not be allowed to enter his office. But the High Court said on Monday that Mr Yadav will report to Mr Meena.
Mr Kejriwal has accused the Centre of using the Lieutenant Governor to run Delhi by proxy and moved court arguing that as the Centre's representative in Delhi, Mr Jung does not have the right to appoint bureaucrats. The High Court is hearing that petition.