New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s sit-in at Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal’s house entered the third day on Wednesday.
Kejriwal, along with the three most senior members of his cabinet, is demanding an intervention from the L-G to end, what it calls, a “strike” by bureaucrats.
In its demands, the AAP has not received any support from the Congress, who’s Delhi unit chief Ajay Maken as called out Kejriwal for letting “governance suffer”. However, other regional players have expressed solidarity with the Aam Aadmi Party.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha visited the chief minister’s house on Wednesday, where he met the senior AAP leaders camped out there. Jha said his party supported the AAP’s demand for Delhi’s full statehood.
“RJD supports Delhi’s demand for full statehood. Delhi deserves better than a handicapped government and a truncated verdict. The L-G is just a puppet of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Delhi's mandate must be respected. Today Arvind Kejriwal is CM, tomorrow it may be someone else but bureaucrats can't have the highest power. By doing this, you (Centre) are not just victimising Kejriwal or AAP, you are victimising the people of Delhi,” Jha told reporters at Kejriwal’s official residence on Flagstaff Road.
Jayant Chaudhary, vice president of the western UP based Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), tweeted his support for Kejriwal and said, “A government-appointed official can’t spare five minutes in three days to be meet the popularly elected Chief Minister? Without the instructions and shelter of the Centre, such a thing would not be possible. This is governance failure. This is not an insult to Arvind Kejriwal, but an insult to the mandate of the people.”
Furthermore, former Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha will also join the AAP's march from the CM's house to Raj Niwas on Wednesday evening.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh said he and his party colleagues had sought time with President Ram Nath Kovind to discuss the crisis. “In three days, the 'Lord Sahib' L-G could not even spare three days. The elected chief minister of a government with massive majority deserves at least this much. I have asked for time to meet the President to resolve this crisis. I have spoken to leaders of the CPI(M), CPI, JD(S), SP, RJD and RLD. They have all promised support. Manoj Jha of RJD even came to the CM's House to express support,” he said.
When asked what he makes of the Congress’s lack of support, Singh said, “When the government in Uttarakhand was suspended, we (AAP) held a press conference before the Congress. When the government in Arunachal Pradesh was suspended, we held a press conference before the Congress did. This is bigger than political differences. This is about our democracy. I hope Congress sees sense. We will continue to speak for their government in Puducherry, even if Congress does not speak up for the people of Delhi.”
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