When Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal left Raj Niwas — the official residence of Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal — to his home on June 20, it made headlines in the media. While a chief minister visiting an L-G's office is not new, a chief minister and his cabinet colleagues occupying the visitor's lounge of Raj Niwas for nine days is something unheard of.
On June 11, Mr. Kejriwal convened a press conference and accused the Delhi bureaucrats of skipping meetings called by him and his ministers. He further claimed the officers were "on a strike for four months" and it was being "orchestrated by the PMO and coordinated by the L-G.” He further sought the L-G's intervention in the matter.
While the L-G's office refused to give an appointment to Mr. Kejriwal, he and his colleagues — Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Health Minister Satyendar Jain and Transport Minister Gopal Rai — began a sit-in protest at Raj Niwas . While Mr. Baijal continued to work from his residence, the visitor's lounge became the shelter for Mr. Kejriwal and his ministers.
In the meantime, the Opposition BJP launched a counter-protest outside the Chief Minister’s office in the Delhi Secretariat accusing Mr. Kejriwal of striking work.
Mr. Jain began his indefinite hunger strike from June 12, while Mr. Sisodia from the next day to add pressure to the L-G. Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta, along with his fellow legislators Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Jagdish Pradhan, west Delhi MP Parvesh Verma, and suspended AAP MLA Kapil Mishra too started a hunger strike .
Public interest litigations were filed in Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court from both the sides.
Mr. Kejriwal received support from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who in the past have been vocal about what they call interference by the Centre in their States' affairs. Puducherry Chief Minister Narayanaswamy also blamed the L-G office for the situation in the Capital.
Probably for the first time, the Delhi IAS Association, held a press conference on June 17, to refute Mr. Kejriwal's claim . On their part, the bureaucrats and civil servants claimed they feared for their safety in front of elected representatives, referring to the alleged assault on Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by AAP legislators in Mr. Kejriwal's home on February 19.
The unprecedented press meet finally broke the stalemate with Mr. Kejriwal agreeing to discuss the issue with the officers and Mr. Sisodia writing to the L-G insisting on his presence in such a meet. Mr. Jain, Mr. Sisodia and Mr. Gupta were hospitalised as their health deteriorated due to fasting.
The sit-in and counter sit-in were called off on June 19 after ministers and officials started taking part in meetings, bringing some respite to the turbulent political situation in the Capital. Mr. Kejriwal has already announced that his party will step up its campaign on statehood for Delhi.
