NEW DELHI: Scores of e- rickshaw drivers on Tuesday protested outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s house in Ghaziabad demanding his intervention to stop harassment by the police. Kejriwal met the drivers after they blocked his way to the Secretariat. The ban on e-rickshaws was lifted in December when the Union Cabinet decided to amend the Motor Vehicle Act but however, the protestors claimed that they were still being harassed by police in the capital.
With regard to the issue of e-rickshaws, the protest that was held on Tuesday was not the only protest. On the second day, after the AAP Government took over, many students of Delhi University also staged a protest outside Delhi Secretariat demanding regular evening classes and new colleges. Students, who are pursuing correspondence courses from DU’s SOL (University’s School of Open Learning), reached the Secretariat in the morning.
“In the last 30 years, only two colleges have been built despite the fact that the number of students keep increasing every year, which has led to virtually unattainable cut-off, for college admissions. Most students have not been able to get admission in colleges due to this,” said Dinesh Kumar, convener of KYS (Krantikari Yuva Sangathan), under which students protested.
CM Seeks Service of Chaturvedi
On his second day in office, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday asked the Central government to transfer Indian Forest Service officer and former AIIMS Chief Vigilance Officer Sanjeev Chaturvedi to the state government as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the CM’s office.
Chaturvedi, who is currently posted as the Deputy Director of AIIMS, is likely to head the anti-corruption branch of the government. He needs Central clearance before assuming the new responsibility.
Kejriwal, in his letter to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, sought the latter’s intervention for the “urgent services” of Chaturvedi as an OSD in the CMO. “I would be highly obliged if you could personally look into the matter and get the requisite orders issued at the earliest,” the letter read.
The Environment Minister is the cadre-controlling authority of IFoS officers. By appointing the ‘whistle-blower’ IFoS officer in the state government, Kejriwal wants to send out the message that he is on the right track towards curbing corruption.