Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday at the Prime Minister’s Office and took up a host of issues, including his Government’s tussle with lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung, as he sought the Centre’s cooperation irrespective of the differences in “political ideologies”.
According to sources, the Prime Minister did not give any assurance to the Chief Minister and he returned empty handed. Kejriwal later launched a broadside on ACB chief Mukesh Kumar Meena calling him corrupt. Meena reacted angrily and said that he was exploring legal options to file a case against the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister, who was accompanied by his deputy Manish Sisodia for the meeting with Modi, also raised the issue of “Delhi Police being at war with his Government” and touched upon the row over the appointment of the Delhi ACB’s chief.
“We met the Prime Minister and told him that for the development of Delhi and benefit of its people, the Centre and the State Government should work in tandem. But it is important that the political ideologies of the two Governments should not interfere with the work,” Kejriwal told reporters after meeting the Prime Minister. “I asked him (Modi) that when he was the Gujarat Chief Minister, how many times were the State Government’s order declared null and void by the Governor. That was the time when the Congress was in power at the Centre, but how many times did the Government declare their orders null and voidIJ There is not even one example,” he added. “I told the PM, that we will fulfil your dreams of Swachchh Bharat, Skill India and Digital India in Delhi. We will do the work and you will earn fame when you go abroad. We will do all that but we need your cooperation,” he said.
This was Kejriwal’s first meeting with Modi since he called on him immediately after the AAP routed the BJP in the Assembly polls in Delhi in February. Tuesday’s meeting lasted about 15-20 minutes. Earlier, in an open letter in June this year, Kejriwal had appealed to Modi to take steps to improve Delhi’s deteriorating law and order situation or hand over control of the Delhi Police to the City Government.
The Chief Minister had also expressed his desire to meet Modi when the latter had wished him on his birthday earlier this month. “@narendramodi Thank u so much sir for your wishes. I am touched. I look forward to meeting u soon to brief u on Delhi’s situation,” Kejriwal had tweeted in response to a post by Modi on the micro-blogging site. The Delhi Chief Minister had been trying to meet Modi for some time now. During the Budget Session of Delhi Assembly, he had said that he had sought an appointment with the Prime Minister but had failed to get one.
Asked about Modi’s responses, Kejriwal said he heard him out carefully and promised to look into the issues he had raised. But Modi made no mention of his meeting with Kejriwal either on his or on the Prime Minister’s Office’s twitter handle.
Meanwhile, the Delhi BJP has accused Kejriwal of giving “political colour” to his meeting with Modi suggesting he should develop a working relationship with the Centre instead of indulging in “gimmicks”. Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay said Kejriwal was the sole non-BJP Chief Minister to have given a political statement right after meeting the Prime Minister, against whom the AAP chief has run a constant “personal campaign”. “The country has around 20 non-BJP Chief Ministers and many regularly meet the Prime Minister but we have never seen a Chief Minister giving a political statement after coming out as Kejriwal did,” he said.
The ruling AAP in Delhi has been locked in a power tussle with the lieutenant Governor in the past six months. Kejriwal also raised the issue of “Delhi Police being at war with his Government”. “It looks like Delhi Police is at war with the Delhi Government and that is dangerous for democracy. When there was a strike of transporters here, police were trying that the protest should get escalated. “They are focused upon how to arrest the MlAs one by one. If the police itself create problems, there will be chaos and the crime rate will increase,” he said.
Talking about the appointment of the ACB chief, Kejriwal said, “I told him that the Anti-Corruption Bureau was working absolutely fine before June 8 and then a corrupt officer was sent as ACB chief.” Sources in the Government said that during the much-awaited interaction, Kejriwal also discussed the land crunch for development projects and transfer and postings of bureaucrats.