Politicking over the drive to seal unauthorised commercial establishments in Delhi turned ugly on Tuesday, with a meeting between Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and local BJP functionaries witnessing chaos and ending abruptly, and the BJP leaders even claiming that they were manhandled by members of the Aam Aadmi Party.
Amid an ongoing blame game over who was responsible for the sealing of commercial establishments in residential areas, Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari had on Monday conveyed to Kejriwal that he would meet him the following day along with other leaders from his party, including MLAs and MPs.
Kejriwal then tweeted that he would, along with the BJP leaders, call on Lt Governor Anil Baijal after the meeting to discuss the issue.
The BJP leaders did turn up at the chief minister's residence for the meeting, but they left just minutes afterwards, alleging that they were manhandled by AAP supporters.
Leader of opposition in the Vidhan Sabha, Vijender Gupta, claimed that he was assaulted by AAP supporters outside Kejriwal's residence.
“He (Kejriwal) not only refused to meet, he had people outside his home who assaulted me causing injuries. Utterly disgraceful & criminal act by the CM,” Gupta tweeted. The BJP leaders have filed a complaint with the police regarding the alleged assault.
CM @ArvindKejriwal's tribute to #MahatmaGandhi on #MartyrsDay was to invite opposition to his home and get them assaulted in front of his house. It is a black day for Indian democracy under #AAPRaj. #KejriwalGoons
— Vijender Gupta (@Gupta_vijender) January 30, 2018
The BJP leaders claimed that the AAP government was not sincere about finding a solution to the problem of sealing, and was more interested in fixing responsibility of the drive—which is being carried out by the three BJP-run municipal corporations on the instructions of a Supreme Court-monitored committee—on the civic bodies and the Centre.
“We left because we felt that the Kejriwal government is not interested in finding a solution to the issue,” said Tiwari.
Immediately after the BJP leaders left, Kejriwal held a hurriedly called press conference, in which announced that the Delhi government would approach the Supreme Court to seek relief for traders from the sealing drive.
“BJP has refused to even talk to me. So I have no choice but to knock at the doors of the highest court. Delhi government will move the Supreme Court against the sealing drive,” Kejriwal said at the press conference. Kejriwal then went on a tour of different areas of Delhi to assess the situation with regard to the sealing drive.
The AAP and the BJP have been blaming each other for the sealing drive. While the BJP holds the Kejriwal government responsible for the delay in notifying roads so as to allow commercial activity on those stretches, the AAP has held the BJP-ruled municipal corporations and the Centre responsible for the action.
The AAP government has appealed to the Lt governor, who heads the Delhi Development Authority, to bring in amendments in the Master Plan of Delhi to regularise the commercial establishments.
The sealing drive has become a politically pertinent issue as byelections could possibly be held in the capital after 20 AAP MLAs were disqualified for holding offices of profit.
