Friday, day five of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejrwal and his Cabinet colleagues’ sit-in before the Raj Niwas, began with Mr. Kejriwal hoping Prime Minister Narendra Modi will intervene in ending the impasse between his government and the bureaucracy.
This, even as Mr. Kejriwal, in a video message, said he had written to Mr. Modi again, asking if he, despite being the Prime Minister, would be able to run his government if the bureaucracy didn’t adhere to his instructions of attending meetings.
“We have spent four nights waiting at the LG's [Lieutenant Governor] office but he hasn’t given us even four minutes of his time... hope the prime minister will pay some attention,” Mr. Kejriwal tweeted on Friday morning.
The Chief Minister pointed out that this was the fourth day of his colleague and Health Minister Satyendar Jain’s hunger strike and the third day of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s.
In the video message, Mr. Kejriwal said he had written to Mr. Modi again and asked him what he would have done had he been in his shoes.
“It’s been five days and instead of helping us ensure that the strike by IAS officers is brought to an end, you are standing by and letting even the Delhi Secretariat be taken over by leaders from your own party who have sat there in support of the bureaucracy’s strike,” he alleged.
Doctors visit Raj Niwas
Later in the day, a team of doctors met Mr. Sisodia and Mr. Jain who are on an indefinite fast. The AAP leaders fear they would be forcefully evicted from the Raj Niwas. "Why r [are] they planning to take them forcefully? It is just 4 days. Both of them r fit. They r [are] fighting for the people of Delhi," Mr. Kejriwal tweeted.
AAP to launch campaign
In its attempt to take its “sit-in andolan” to people, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will be launching a door-to-door signature campaign beginning Monday.
“We will reach out to one million households for a signature beginning Monday...demanding that the strike, which is crippling Delhi, be brought to an end, door delivery of ration and statehood for Delhi,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
The Chief Minister alleged that the current situation was due to the fact that the BJP had “nothing to say” in response to “the feats accomplished” by his government in sectors such as education and health over the last three years.
Citing delay "in seven significant and continuing government projects", including the desilting of drains, Mr. Kejriwal wrote to Mr. Modi on Tuesday, requesting that IAS officers allegedly striking work since mid-February, following the attack on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash at the Chief Minister’s residence, be made to come back to work.
“We pray that you will step in for the sake of the people of Delhi and remedy the situation,” he wrote.
