People are feeling insulted, whole country urges you to end IAS strike: Kejriwal to PM Modi after AAP protest march
June 17 (AZINS) Amid an intensifying tussle between Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal,? Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday once again urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring an end to bureaucrats strike, even though the IAS association rebutted the claim of the Aam Aadmi Party that its officers are being targeted and victimised.
Replying to Modi's tweet sharing details about his closing remarks at the NITI Aayog Governing Council meet, Arvind Kejriwal said that people are feeling insulted.
"Sir, not just Delhi, but the whole country is urging you. Bring an end to IAS officers' strike and please let the elected government work. People are feeling insulted," Kejriwal said in a tweet written in Hindi.
Arvind Kejriwal along with his deputy Manish Sisodia, ministers Satyendar Jain and Gopal Rai, is sitting at the office of Lt Governor Anil Baijal for past one week, demanding him to direct IAS officers to end their "strike" and approve doorstep delivery scheme of his government.
To support Kejriwal and protest against the Centre, AAP leaders and thousands of workers marched towards Narendra Modi's residence holding a placard which read - "Modi ji, LG stop taking revenge" - however, they were stopped midway by Delhi police.
The CPI(M) also joined them in the protest, signalling that the opposition parties were closing ranks with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in his confrontation with the Centre.
The CPI(M)'s support to Kejriwal came as the TDP, the TMC, the JD(S) also appeared to supporting him in the confrontation with the Delhi Lt. Governor and the Centre.
In an unusual press conference at the Press Club, Revenue Secretary Manisha Saxena, along with Transport Commissioner Varsha Joshi, South Delhi District Magistrate Amjad Tak and Directorate of Information and Publicity Secretary Jaydev Sarangi said that the IAS officers in Delhi are "working with utmost sincerity and dedication".
The officers also said that they are apolitical and neutral and their job is to implement the policies of the government.
"We are answerable only to the law and the Constitution," they said.
"We have been targeted and victimised and told that we are working with someone. We would like to inform that we are not on strike," Saxena said.
TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Kerala's Pinarayi Vijayan, Andhra Pradesh's N Chandrababu Naidu and Karnataka's H D Kumaraswamy had a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the sidelines of the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting and urged the Centre to resolve the issue.
DMK working President MK Stalin also tweeted in support of Kejriwal.
"I am concerned with the disdain shown by Lt. Gov. of Delhi towards an elected Chief Minister like @ArvindKejriwal. The BJP is proactively destroying the federal structure of this nation. I express my solidarity with the Chief Ministers who are standing up for States' rights," he said.
Meanwhile, Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said Kejriwal should put an end to the crisis by expressing "regrets" to Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, who was allegedly manhandled by AAP legislators at the chief minister's residence during a late night meeting on February 19.
The Delhi BJP accused Kejriwal of resorting to a "political stunt" in a bid to form an "anti-BJP, anti-Narendra Modi" front in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha election.