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Arvind Kejriwal ends protest after LG Anil Baijal urges him to meet IAS officers

We have nothing against IAS officers, 99% of them are good people, we have worked with them to improve governance in Delhi, they were just a front for interference by central govt & LG, said Arvind Kejriwal.

Arvind Kejriwal ends protest after LG Anil Baijal urges him to meet IAS officers

Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal leaving Lt Governor's office in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Photo: Twitter)

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has ended his nine-day protest at Lt Governor’s office in Raj Niwas in New Delhi, after the latter wrote a letter to AAP chief and urged him to urgently meet the officers in the Secretariat.

“We have nothing against IAS officers, 99% of them are good people, we have worked with them to improve governance in Delhi, they were just a front for interference by central govt & LG”, said Arvind Kejriwal.

“This struggle will go on till Delhi gets the status of full statehood,” added Kejriwal.

While, deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said Arvind Kejriwal took the decision to leave the office-cum-residence of Lt Governor Anil Baijal after IAS officers attended meetings called by Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, Social Welfare Minister Rajinder Pal Gautam and Food Minister Imran Hussain.

The officers were also responding to telephone calls from Ministers and Sisodia said he too spoke to a number of officers.

“All the top officers including the Chief Secretary were present at meetings called by Ministers on Tuesday,” Sisodia told the media.

Baijal’s letter

LG Anil Baijal in his letter also appreciated Arvind Kejriwal’s assurance to officers about their security and urged the CM to meet the IAS officers. The Lt Governor wrote to Kejriwal in response to a letter by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to him on Monday.

“The LG requested the Chief Minister to urgently meet the officers in the Secretariat so that apprehensions and concerns of both sides can be suitably addressed through dialogue in the best interest of the people of Delhi,” said a statement from the Raj Niwas.

“The LG has written that earlier also, he had advised to make efforts to restore trust between the elected government and the officers,” it added.

Baijal was “glad” that Kejriwal had tweeted an appeal to the officers assuring them of safety and security in their interactions with the elected government.

He said he has been informed that the officers have also welcomed the appeal and are awaiting Kejriwal’s presence in the Delhi Secretariat to hold discussions.

Sisodia on Monday wrote to Baijal urging him to “end the IAS officer’s strike” and attend a meeting between Kejriwal and bureaucrats serving in Delhi.

In the letter, Sisodia said: “Since security and service come under you, we want this meeting is held in your presence so that we can assure the officers everything within our power, and you, within your powers.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused urgent hearing on a plea seeking its direction to declare as “unconstitutional” the sit-in of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues inside the Lieutenant Governor’s office in Delhi.

Nine days ago, Arvind Kejriwal along with his deputy Manish Sisodia, ministers Satyendar Jain and Gopal Rai, began a protest at L-G Anil Baijal’s office, demanding him to direct IAS officers to end their “strike” and approve doorstep delivery scheme of his government.

However, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was shifted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital on Monday after his condition deteriorated, while Satyendar Jain had been shifted to the same hospital late Sunday night.

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