Thousands of AAP supporters marching towards Prime Minister’s residence from Mandi House were stopped midway by Delhi Police as the impasse between the Arvind Kejriwal led government and lieutenant governor Anil Baijal showed no signs of abating on Sunday.
The AAP held the march to support the sit-in of CM Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues at the L-G’s office for the last six days demanding him to direct IAS officers to end their “strike”. The AAP chief had also accused the Centre of misusing its powers to stop Delhi government from working.
In a fresh appeal, Kejriwal urged IAS officers to “stop boycott of elected govt” and assured them of their safety. “I wish to assure them that I will ensure their safety and security with all powers and resources available at my command. It is my duty. I have given similar assurances earlier also to many officers who have been meeting me privately. I reiterate it today,” he said in a note posted on his Twitter account.
The CPI(M) also lent its support to the march, with party general secretary Sitaram Yechury condemning the manner in which the federal feature of the Constitution was being “undermined” by the BJP government at the Centre.
Delhi Police, on the other hand, said no permission was sought by the Aam Aadmi Party for a protest march to the prime minister’s residence.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal has received support from four Opposition chief ministers – West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee, Karnataka’s HD Kumaraswamy, Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan and Andhra Pradesh’s N Chandrababu Naidu – who urged the Centre to “rise above politics”, solve the “constitutional crisis” and not “restrict the federal system”. The leaders, who were denied the permission to meet LG Baijal and Kejriwal on Saturday, plan to raise the issue during the NITI Aayog meeting on Sunday.
