New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday that he might be “stubborn” but not “violent”, breaking his silence on the alleged attack on chief secretary Anshu Prakash by his party MLAs, and asserted that all officers are “one family”.
Observing that “cowards” indulge in physical fight, the Delhi chief minister said the allegations against him that he had called Prakash for a meeting at his residence and got him thrashed at night was “baseless”.
“It’s a baseless allegation that I called him in the night at my residence and got him thrashed. I am not a fool to to do so,” Kejriwal said after meeting a delegation of Joint Council of All Employees Organisations.
“Kejriwal may be stubborn but he is not violent. Cowards indulge in physical fighting. Kejriwal is not a coward,” he stated.
The Delhi chief minister also said that he considered all officers and employees of the city government as part of one family, and added that a “conspiracy” was being hatched somewhere else against his government.
“All the officers and employees are part of our family. The conspiracy is being hatched somewhere else. We will deal with it separately and the almighty will help us in this.”
In the past 10-15 days “a lie was propagated” and an atmosphere was created by “instigating” the employees as though President’s Rule will be imposed in Delhi, he said, referring to the developments following the alleged assault on Prakash.
“There has been no dearth of conspiracies against us since the time of Anna Andolan. The Jan Lokpal movement was cheated but we never lost patience and adopted violence. Ever since our government has been formed, they have been saying President’s Rule will be imposed,” he said, without naming anyone.
He also shared his anguish with the delegation, saying “the pain and hurt you receive from your own is more. What was our standing – we used to work in the streets and slums and now because of the grace of god and miracle by Delhi people we have been given this responsibility.”
The chief minister also credited the officers and staff for the achievements of the AAP government in the past three years. “We cannot do anything without you,” he said.
He claimed that his government had solved various issues of officers of different cadres with “greatest sympathy and promptness” in the past three years.
“The sympathy and promptness with which this government addressed the problems and issues of all the cadres of officers and employees, in three years, no other government ever did so,” he claimed.
Kejriwal also appealed to the employees’ delegation to approach him whenever there is an issue in future.
“One-sided version creates confusion. You should hear both sides. I appeal to you to come to me whenever there is any issue,” he said.
The Joint Council in its memorandum to the chief minister said “the dialogues among the public servant at every level should be proper, decent and brotherly. All the pillars of democracy including the political executive should function within the limits of the law.”
It also demanded that all the meetings of executives, including political executives and bureaucrats, should be held in office hours except in case of emergency.
Delhi chief secretary Anshu Prakash was allegedly assaulted at Kejriwal’s residence by AAP MLAs on the intervening night of February 19-20.
Police have so far arrested two MLAs and also seized hard disk of the CCTV camera system installed at the chief minister’s official residence in its investigation in the case registered on a complaint of Prakash.
PTI