CM proposes to launch door-to-door campaign

NEW DELHI: Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced that he will launch a door-to-door campaign after Sunday, if the Centre continues to be mute over the demands submitted by him to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.

He also wrote a fresh letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his intervention to end the 'strike' by IAS officers in the Capital, even as he hit out at his detractors, saying the sit-in was "not for personal gains" but for the greater good of the people of Delhi.

In a video released from the sit-in at LG's office, Kejriwal asked AAP workers to do a similar campaign like the one they did over electricity bills in 2015.

"After Sunday, if there is no response on our demands, go door-to-door and bring the signatures of at least 10 lakh families. We will forward it to the Prime Minister. He is not responding to my demand, so the people of Delhi will ask him," the Chief Minister said in the video.

Kejriwal also said that he was expecting the LG to approve the demands in some time, but was "astonished to see that the IAS strike was still going on."

"We wrote to the LG, texted him. We wrote to the Prime Minister. Why has the Prime Minister not ordered the officers to call off their strike? On the other hand, BJP members are protesting to support the officers' strike," Kejriwal added.

On Thursday, AAP had warned of a protest at the Prime Minister's residence on Sunday if the demands of the Delhi Cabinet ministers were not met.

A team of doctors on Thursday also conducted a health check-up of Kejriwal's deputy Manish Sisodia and Delhi Health minister Satyendar Jain at the LG office, who are on an indefinite hunger strike to press for their demands.

As part of their demands, the Delhi Cabinet ministers have sought that the LG direct the IAS officers to end their 'strike' and initiate punitive against those officers who have hampered work.

The ministers also want the LG to approve the proposal for doorstep delivery of ration scheme.

"I have again asked him (PM) to do something. It is not alright to have this strike be allowed. So, on Sunday, will go to the PM's residence, a lot of people of Delhi will go to his residence and appeal to him to have the strike cancelled," Kejriwal said in the letter to the PM.