Kejriwal after ending his 9-day long sit-in
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday ended his nine-day long sit-in protest at Lieutenant Governor's house.
The development comes after Delhi LG Anil Baijal wrote to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking him to hold an urgent meeting with the officers of the IAS Association.
AAP supporters cheered Kejriwal as he came out of the LG's office and later he was given a welcome at his residence where he addressed party workers.
"If the LG has prompted the strike by the IAS officers, it is very unfortunate. It is a small victory. Ninety-nine per cent of the IAS officers are very good. We have done a lot in power and water sectors and we could not have done this alone," he told the party workers.
"But some officers in private told us that they were being pressurised not to work with the AAP government. We were silent for the last four months over the IAS officers' strike. But we wanted to resolve the issue. That is why we felt that the matter should be brought before the public. The battle for Delhi's statehood will continue," the chief minister said.
The L-G welcomed Kejriwal's assurance that he would provide all kinds of safety and security in their interactions with the elected government.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in a hurriedly-called press briefing, said that the sit-in was "not a dharna" as they were "waiting to meet the LG."
The deputy chief minister said several meetings, attended by IAS officers, were held during the day.
Six IAS officers, including Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, attended key meeetings with AAP ministers, he said.
Sisodia claimed that some officers have told him that they had pressure from the top but now they (officers) "received the nod from the top" to attend meetings with AAP ministers.
Meanwhile, an unimpressed opposition sounded a note of caution even as Kejriwal ended the protest, saying his "drama" has been exposed before the people of Delhi.
Nobody is sure that Kejriwal will not sit on dharna again although he has been "exposed" this time, Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said.
"'At the end of the nine days of 'nautanki' (drama) by Kejriwal, the people fail to understand why he sat on dharna and what has he achieved," he said in a statement.
Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken alleged that both Kejriwal and the BJP that were playing "dharna politics" in Delhi, have shifted gears due to waning media attention.
"Now that the entire country is discussing Kashmir development-Kejriwal and BJP leaders of Delhi thought that sitting on Dharna will not be adequately covered by the media. Both decided to wind up their Dharnas!" Maken tweeted.
BJP MLA and Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta said Kejriwal's "drama" has been "exposed" by the struggle of the opposition leaders and the hunger strike staged by them.
Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues had started the sit-in June 11, demanding a direction by the LG to the officers to end their "strike", a charge rebutted by the bureaucrats.
The IAS officers had gone public to express their apprehensions about safety, after the alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by some AAP MLAs in February.
Watch: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal calls off his 9-day long sit-in
