NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday reprimanded Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, observing that his week-long sit-in at the office of Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal was unwarranted.
“This can’t be called a strike. You can’t go inside someone’s office or house and hold a strike there,” a bench of Justices AK Chawla and Navin Chawla said.
The court made the observation while hearing two petitions, one against Kejriwal’s sit-in and the other against the alleged strike by Delhi IAS officers. BJP MLA Vijender Gupta too approached the court, seeking a court order to Kejriwal to end his ‘dharna’.
The lawyer representing the Delhi government ministers told the court that IAS officers had yesterday acknowledged that they were not attending meetings called by ministers. But the high court turned the question on the AAP leaders.
“Thing is that you’re sitting on ‘dharna’. Who authorised you to sit on a dharna like this?” asked the bench.
The lawyer replied that it was the ministers’ individual decision. Then the bench asked if it was “authorised”, and added that such a demonstration could not be termed a ‘strike’.
The bench also decided to make the IAS association a party to the proceedings and adjourned the case till Friday.
AAP leaders are demanding that Delhi IAS officers end their ‘undeclared strike’.
Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, and ministers Gopal Rai and Satyendar Jain have been on a sit-in strike at Raj Niwas, Baijal’s official residence, since June 11.
They want Baijal to issue a directive to civil servants to end their strike, among other demands.