Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday that the protest will continue for an indefinite period, with no negotiations. In spite of criticism from various quarters, the Aam Aadmi Party says they will continue their protest with their dharna according to plan. Kejriwal has also turned down the plea to shift the protest to Jantar Mantar saying he was the chief minister and could sit wherever he wants to. “Who is Shinde to decide where we will protest? I am the CM of Delhi,” he said, reports The Times of India.
On the second day of his protest, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal upped the ante, threatening to flood Rajpath, the venue of Republic Day celebrations, with lakhs of supporters demanding action against policemen who refused to carry out a raid on an alleged drug and prostitution ring.
The chief minister along with his six Cabinet colleagues and scores of supporters spent the night outside the Rail Bhawan, the venue of their protest, braving the cold winter.
Kejriwal slept on the road under the open sky while some of his supporters spent the night singing and raising slogans around a bonfire.
“Sushilkumar Shinde has inconvenienced India by not cooperating with our demands,” Arvind Kejriwal said, taking on the home minister. “How can the home minister sleep when people are suffering?” he demanded to know. Kejriwal said this means of unconventional politics will be a new league of politics for India. Meanwhile, another AAP leader Yogendra Yadav also justified the street governance and questioned the politics of the BJP and Congress. For the common man, it will be another day of traffic chaos with all 4 metro stations near North Block to remain shut as the protest enters the second day. Several roads in central Delhi are also closed. On Monday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal embraced the “anarchist” slur being hurled at him by his detractors after he, in a sudden turn of events, began squatting outside Rail Bhavan and urged people to join him there in large numbers. Political observers said this could well mark the informal beginning of AAP’s campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. Kejriwal’s dharna began soon after his deadline for the Centre to suspend five policemen went unheeded and he was stopped on his way to North Block. This set off a game of nerves between Kejriwal and the Centre, as the area was swamped by policemen and other security personnel with AAP supporters jostling with them for the better part of the day. With Republic Day less than a week away and security forces poised to take over the area, there was palpable tension in the air. Kejriwal has rejected all pleas to move to Jantar Mantar since Section 144 has been imposed in the area. He kept everyone guessing by first asking for suspension of the cops, then softening his stand and saying transfers would be acceptable and later spreading the word that he was in this for a long haul and would settle for nothing less than the police being placed under Delhi government. “Yes, I am an anarchist. There is unrest in every house. Now we have to spread this unrest in the homes of Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and the police commissioner,” said a charged Kejriwal as he hopped on to a transformer inside a park and addressed his supporters. He, in fact, has threatened to disrupt Republic Day celebrations and said that a country cannot celebrate when its women are under assault. He also asked upright police officials to take leave and join him in his protest. “I promise, in case the commissioner harasses you because of this, mein unhe dekh loonga,” he said. Though he had initially asked people to stay away - four Metro stations were still closed as a precaution - he quickly changed his mind and invited people to come and join him. As some heeded his call, traffic was thrown out of gear in the area and commuters were put to severe hardship.