Officers says waiting for communication from Delhi CM for meeting; SC refuses urgent hearing

As the relations between the AAP government and the bureaucrats showed signs of a thaw, the IAS officers today said they were waiting for a formal communication from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for a meeting at the secretariat here to end the impasse.

With the Supreme Court refusing an urgent hearing on a plea seeking its direction to declare as "unconstitutional" the sit-in of Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues at the lieutenant governor's office, the chief minister sought to put the ball in the LG's court, saying he is awaiting a response from LG Anil Baijal.

But Baijal is looking for a green signal from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for convening the meeting, he claimed.

Stepping up its attack on the LG, the AAP accused him of working "on the behest" of the Centre and not convening a meeting between the Delhi government and the IAS officers to end the logjam.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Health Minister Satyendar Jain -- who were on a hunger strike at the LG's office and were hospitalised after their health deteriorated, were discharged this morning from the LNJP Hospital.

Meanwhile, AAP MLAs Somnath Bharti and A K Bagga, who were seeking an appointment to meet Baijal, were allegedly removed by the police from the LG's office where they had gone to attend a DDA meeting.

Both Bharti and Bagga, members of the Delhi Development Authority(DDA), after the meeting stayed back at the LG's office and sought an appointment to meet Baijal.

Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues have been holding a sit-in at the LG's office since June 11, demanding a direction to the officers to end their "strike".

The officers have, however, rebutted the claim that they were on strike, saying they continued to be at work with "full dedication and vigour".

The Delhi government has also sought an approval of the doorstep ration delivery scheme from Baijal.

Earlier in the day, a vacation bench comprising justices S A Nazeer and Indu Malhotra said the plea for declaring the sit-in as "unconstitutional" would be listed for hearing after the the top court's summer vacation.

Lawyer Shashank Sudhi, appearing for petitioner Hari Nath Ram, asked for an urgent hearing of the plea, saying a constitutional crisis has been created due to "the unconstitutional and illegal" protest by the chief minister inside the LG's office here.

He contended that the citizens have been "left high and dry" due to the protest by Kejriwal and his colleagues even as the city was facing an "emergency situation" because of severe water crisis.

Sudhi said the Delhi High Court, which had heard matters relating to the issue yesterday, posted the petitions for hearing on June 22.

The IAS AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union territories) Association today said the officers were waiting for a formal communication for a meeting with the chief minister following his assurance over ensuring safety and dignity of the bureaucrats.

"#DelhiAtWork #NoToStrike In the context of Honble CM's assurance, we await formal communication for a meeting with him in the Delhi Secretariat. We reiterate that we continue to be at work," the association tweeted.

Sources, however, said Baijal may not convene the meeting as his office had already asked the Delhi government to sit with the officers and end the stalemate following the alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by some AAP MLAs in February.

The chief minister again took to twitter and said, "We wrote a letter to Hon'ble LG yesterday seeking meeting of all stakeholders. We r awaiting response from Hon'ble LG. Hon'ble LG awaiting green signal from Hon'ble PM, who has to take the decision Whole Delhi waiting for Hon'ble PM to decide fast (sic)."
Meanwhile, Medical Superintendent of the LNJP Hospital J C Passey said, "Both the ministers were discharged around 10 am. Their health parameters, including ketone level in urine, are normal now."