A neighbour of Arvind Kejriwal has now reportedly approached Delhi High Court against Delhi Police for allowing mayors and councillors sit on dharna outside the chief minister’s house, demanding that the Delhi government clears its dues to the municipal corporations.
The plea states that “mayors and councillors of municipal corporations are sitting outside the CM’s residence on Flag Staff Road and have blocked the public road once again obstructing free movement of residents. The protesters have, therefore, flagrantly violated the directions passed by this honourable court”.
The petitioner cited the Delhi court’s orders against JNU students who obstructed administrative work. They have also cited the order where the Court restrained Delhi Vidyut Board Employees Union and its members from holding any dharna or demonstration within 500 metres of any offices of BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd.
Reportedly, the Single Bench of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva heard the plea filed by Civil Lines Residents Association thereby issued notice to the Delhi Police chief and the chief secretary, for their reply.
However, strangely the petition does not mention the dharna by AAP members, who were sitting outside the Chief Minister’s house protesting against an imaginary house arrest of Arvind Kejriwal by the Delhi Police.
In a strange turn of events, on the 8th of December, members of Aam Aadmi Party had sat on a dharna outside their chief Arvind Kejriwal’s house because they alleged that he had been put under unofficial house arrest by the Delhi Police. This claim was, of course, proved to be imaginary since videos emerged of him moving around freely while claiming that he was locked up in the house. Now, the neighbour of Arvind Kejriwal has moved Delhi High Court, complaining against the disruption being caused by AAP members sitting on dharna outside Kejriwal’s house.
While the petition cites the dharna by councillors and mayors, who are demanding that the dues be cleared by the AAP government, it fails to mention the other drama that unfolded outside the CM’s residence.
Why are councillors and mayors protesting outside the residence of Arvind Kejriwal?
Mayors and other senior leaders of the BJP-led three municipal corporations have been protesting outside the residence of Arvind Kejriwal for four consecutive days demanding that the AAP government in Delhi clears the dues payable to the municipal corporations.
The three mayors have claimed that Rs 13,000 crore in total is due to the North, South and East corporations from the Delhi government. On Thursday, North Delhi Mayor Jai Prakash, South Delhi Mayor Anamika and East Delhi Mayor Nirmal Jain held a joint press conference at the sit-in site and said the protest “will continue democratically so that we can pay salaries to corporation employees on time”.
“It is not our personal fight, but a fight for the rights of the corporation employees who provide basic amenities to the Delhiites,” the mayors said in a joint statement issued by the Delhi BJP. The protest has now been done only now. Even in earlier in October, the three mayors had protested outside the residence of Arvind Kejriwal for the same demand.
Mayor Jai Prakash has said that back in October, on behalf of CM Arvind Kejriwal, his minister Satyendar Jain had assured that the dues would be released within 10 days, however, that promise has not been kept. The Mayors said that this time, they will not end their dharna until dues are cleared.