After CM's emotional appeal, Delhi IAS officers ready to talk
NEW DELHI: Delhi IAS officers are ready for formal discussions with chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to end the impasse in the Delhi government.
"Officers of Delhi government welcome CM's appeal. We reiterate that we continue to be at work with full dedication and vigour. We look forward to concrete interventions for our security and dignity. We are open to formal discussions with CM on this matter," the IAS AGMUT Association said after a meeting held at Delhi secretariat where they discussed the appeal made by Kejriwal on Sunday.
Responding to the IAS officers' remarks that they avoid some meetings with AAP ministers because they feel "unsafe", CM Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday issued an emotional appeal to the bureaucrats, assuring them of safety in meetings.
Welcoming response from the IAS association, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said, "That is precisely why we have been sitting at Raj Niwas for so many days requesting the LG to call all stakeholders and end this impasse."
He further said, "We are happy to discuss with our officers. Delhi government is committed to providing them safe and secure environment. However, the LG is head of both "services" and "security". So, the meeting should take place in his presence so that assurances related to those subjects could be given."
The officers have left the ball in Kejriwal's court, and now the CM will have to take a call on whether he is ready for a formal discussion with the IAS officers.
As the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) protest entered its eighth day on Monday, the Delhi High Court pulled up the Arvind Kejriwal-led government and asked who had authorised the sit-in protest by the chief minister and his cabinet colleagues — Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai and Satyender Jain — at the Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal's office. "You are sitting inside the LG's office. If it's a strike, it has to be outside the office," the court said.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who was on a hunger strike, has been hospitalized, Kejriwal tweeted. Health Minister Satyendar Jain was also shifted to the hospital on Sunday evening.
After Mamata Banerjee, N Chandrababu Naidu, Pinarayi Vijayan and HD Kumaraswamy, Kejriwal received support from MK Stalin, Omar Abdullah and Prakash Raj among others. CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury briefly joined the protesters at the Mandi House circle on Sunday.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday questioned the Prime Minister's silence on the ongoing administrative logjam in Delhi.
Kejriwal and company have been staging a sit-in protest at LG's office since last Monday over the bureaucratic impasse in the National Capital due to the IAS officers "strike." See inside
