Don't Obstruct Work, AAP Urges Delhi Govt Officers
Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party on 24 February urged government officers, protesting against the alleged attack on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by party MLAs, to not obstruct work as doing so would hit the governance.
Saurabh Bharadwaj, chief spokesperson of AAP's Delhi unit, said the cases relating to the alleged assault on Prakash and the attack on minister Imran Hussain and Delhi Dialogue Commission's vice-chairman Ashish Khetan are being investigated by the police.
"We appeal to the officers not to obstruct work as governance gets hit because of this," Bharadwaj said.
Delhi L-G Anil Baijal Briefs Home Minister Rajnath Singh
Lt Governor Anil Baijal on 24 February briefed Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the tussle between AAP government and its bureaucracy in wake of the alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by party MLAs at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence, an official said.
During the 30-minute meeting, the L-G apprised the home minister on his interactions with the government's bureaucrats, which complained about the alleged high-handedness of the MLAs, and a delegation of Delhi's ruling party, which conveyed to him about the non-attendance of officers in regular meetings, the home ministry official said.
Delhi Govt's Officers Meet Cabinet Secretary
A joint forum of employees and officers of the Delhi government on 24 February met Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha to raise the issue of alleged assault on chief secretary Anshu Prakash and apprised him about the "difficult working condition" prevailing in the AAP dispensation.
In the meeting, the episode over the past few years and the immediate one with Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash were detailed, the forum said in a statement.
The Cabinet Secretary gave a patient hearing to all officials and officers present and acknowledged that they are working in a difficult environment. He assured all employees of complete administrative and moral support. However, he cautioned that citizens should not be put to inconvenience and delivery of services should go on, to which all the officers assured complete dedication.The statement stated.
CM's Advisor Gives Contradictory Statements on Alleged Attack on Delhi Chief Secy
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's advisor V K Jain has given contradictory statements about the alleged attack on Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by AAP legislators, the Delhi Police told the court.
It has said that "new facts" have emerged after the interrogation of Jain, who disclosed that MLAs Prakash Jarwal and Amanutullah Khan surrounded Chief Secretary Prakash and he saw them assaulting the senior bureaucrat, additional public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava told Metropolitan Magistrate Shefali Barnala Tondon.
Jain had previously said he had not seen anything as he had gone to the washroom at the time of the incident on Monday night. The prosecutor said, while moving a fresh plea for their custody, that:
‘New facts have emerged in the case. The advisor to the CM is being interrogated and his statement under Section 164 of the CrPC has been recorded. He has given us four names. The police custody of both the MLAs is required to unearth the whole conspiracy.’
AAP, however, hit back that Jain had denied any assault in his initial statement to the police and that any change in his statement was done under “duress caused by police pressure,” Hindustan Times reported.
AAP Minister, MLAs Detained for Protest Outside Home Minister's Residence
A minister in the Delhi government and several MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were detained by the police on 22 February when they were trying to stage a demonstration in front of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's residence at Akbar Road here, in protest against the arrest of the party's Dalit MLA, Prakash Jarwal.
The detained AAP leaders and workers were taken to the Tughlaq Road and Parliament Street police stations, from where they were released subsequently.