CM Kejriwal announces door-to-door campaign

New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced that he will launch a door-to-door campaign after Sunday if the Centre continues to be mute on their demands. Mr Kejriwal, in a video released from the lieutenant-governor’s (L-G) office, asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers to do a similar campaign like the one they did over electricity bills.

“After Sunday, if there is no response on our demands, go door-to-door and bring back signatures of at least 10 lakh families. We will forward them to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is not responding on my demand, so the people of Delhi should ask him,” Mr Kejriwal said.

Mr Kejriwal along with deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Cabinet ministers Satyendar Jain and Gopal Rai, have been camping in the Raj Niwas —  the official accommodation-cum-office of L-G Anil Baijal — since Monday evening. They continued their sit-in for the fifth consecutive day on Friday.

The protestors have been demanding the L-G for a direction to the IAS officers working in the Delhi administration to end their undeclared strike, action against those officers who have struck work for “four months” and approval to his government’s proposal for doorstep delivery of ration to the poor.

The AAP on Thursday had warned of a massive protest at the Prime Minister’s residence on Sunday if their demands were not met.

Mr Kejriwal also said that he was expecting the L-G to approve his demand in some time, but was “astonished to see the IAS strike is still on”.

“We wrote to the L-G, 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, the BJP members are protesting to support the officers’ strike,” Mr Kejriwal added. He accused the Prime Minster of taking revenge from the people of Delhi.

“Our government has done so much in the past three years, which is difficult for them (the BJP) to explain. They are in power in Madhya Pradesh from the past 15 years, in Gujarat from past 30 years. As they are not able to do developmental work in their states, they want to stop us,” Mr Kejriwal added

He said that he was not sitting there demanding something for himself or his children.

“I am also not sitting here for AC or sofa. I have it in my house. If you feel I am sitting here for my comfort, go and try to sleep on sofa for four days. We are here for Delhi, for its people,” he added.