IAS officers ready to talk; AAP seeks Delhi LG Anil Baijal's presence

New Delhi: The political stalemate between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government and the bureaucracy looks to be heading towards a resolution with both sides willing to put an end to the deadlock, nearly a week after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sat on a dharna at Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal’s office to protest against the bureaucracy which was allegedly on “strike”.

Kejriwal made an appeal to the officers to come back and guaranteed their “safety” by calling them his family on Sunday. In response, the IAS officers’ association welcomed the appeal on Monday and said they were open to discussion on the matter.

“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 the CM on this matter,” the association said in a statement.


While the government has accepted the “offer” made by the association, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has requested for a meeting in the presence of the LG. In a letter written to LG Baijal, Sisodia said both “safety” and “security” are under the jurisdiction of the LG and his presence would be desirable to resolve the matter quickly.

On Sunday, the officers denied that they were on “strike”. Addressing a press conference, they said they were concerned about their safety and had “no confidence” in the AAP government.

They alleged that they were being targetted and victimised for “political gains”.

While Kejriwal continued to sit in protest for the seventh consecutive day, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who was also on hunger strike, had to be hospitalised on Monday after his ketone levels rose.

Health Minister Satyendar Jain was also shifted to hospital on Sunday evening. Earlier in the day, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the government wanted the strike to end as it would ensure the completion of several projects which were left pending.

The party on Sunday had planned to take out a march to the Prime Minister’s house in Lok Kalyan Marg but was stopped near the Parliament Street police station.

The party will now launch a campaign to collect the signatures of 10 lakh people against the strike from Tuesday which will be given to the Prime Minister, Singh said.