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Even as it was hemmed in by pressure from the Centre and the army in the run-up to the Republic Day, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) -led Delhi government claimed a “people’s victory” when it called off its dharna late on Tuesday evening. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said his party’s demands had been “partially accepted” — the two Delhi Police officials AAP wanted Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde to suspend had been “sent on leave”. Besides, Delhi Police had already arrested the accused in a particular rape case, meeting another of the demands that had triggered the agitation.
AAP’s climbdown from its firm stance to calling off the sit-in took place over a few hours on Tuesday. And, it appeared the Centre had managed to prevent the face-off from getting too ugly, while AAP had got a face-saver in the form of this compromise formula.
Addressing his supporters, who had spent the previous night on the streets near Rail Bhavan, in the open, Kejriwal said: “This is the first step towards our goal of achieving full statehood for Delhi.”
Since Monday morning, the ministers in the Delhi government, along with hundreds of AAP supporters, had been protesting outside Rail Bhavan in Central Delhi, bringing central government offices around Central Secretariat to a virtual standstill.
From time to time, a concerned Kejriwal had been discussing the issue with his team and taking stock of the situation.
When he emerged from Rail Bhavan at 4.36 pm after one such brainstorming session, he looked a tad worried. AAP leader Yogendra Yadav, close behind, also looked concerned. He was enquiring about a public interest suit that had been filed in the Supreme Court against Kejriwal and Law Minister Somnath Bharti for resorting to “agitation and street fight” for demanding the removal of certain police officers. Earlier in the day, a Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam, had admitted the PIL and posted it for a hearing on Friday.
Another round of brainstorming took place an hour later at the adjacent Press Club of India, with Kejriwal closeted in with his trusted aides, and by late evening the protest had been called off and “victory of the people” claimed.
Even as these were taking place, some fast-paced developments were happening behind the scenes.
The Centre was refusing to give in to the AAP demands but it was in a bind, given that the Republic Day parade was around on the corner. So, Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung was asked to intervene and get the matter sorted out. It is learnt, after a meeting between President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh late in the evening, Jung was asked to talk to Kejriwal and offer him a “face-saver”.
Until late afternoon, AAP supporters on ground-zero were a charged lot — sloganeering against the Delhi Police, waving the tricolour and squatting on the streets. Prashant (29) a web-designer insisted: “This is the only way to make Delhi Police accountable. For 15 years, Sheila Dikshit (former CM) kept claiming she was petitioning the Centre for control of the Delhi Police. But nothing happened. So, the usual methods will not work. We will have to agitate.” Another protester, Robin (35), an engineer, had taken leave of absence from work to join the dharna. “Women safety is our top priority and we have to bring the Delhi Police on track. This is not anarchy; this is peaceful protest.”
But AAP’s problems aggravated when the protest took a violent turn, with supporters pulling down barricades and pelting stones and policemen. AAP spokesperson, Atishi, confessed it was a matter of grave concern, as the dharna was meant to be peaceful. Also, AAP is believed to have lost a significant amount of public sympathy when Kejriwal and his aide Manish Sisodia questioned the legitimacy of a Republic Day parade. AAP leaders were reported to be “discussing” their course of action until past 6.30 pm.
Ashutosh, another AAP spokesperson, even went on record to say “we have a plan for Republic Day, there will be no disruptions. We are open to dialogue. Kejriwal is a responsible chief minister”.
The Congress, which has given outside support to the Delhi government, appealed to AAP to call off its ‘dharna’; and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party lambasted the party for its “anarchist” tactics “to garner votes for its Lok Sabha election debut. But Kejriwal and his team cited “ideological reasons” for calling off the protest.
AAP’s climbdown from its firm stance to calling off the sit-in took place over a few hours on Tuesday. And, it appeared the Centre had managed to prevent the face-off from getting too ugly, while AAP had got a face-saver in the form of this compromise formula.
Addressing his supporters, who had spent the previous night on the streets near Rail Bhavan, in the open, Kejriwal said: “This is the first step towards our goal of achieving full statehood for Delhi.”
Since Monday morning, the ministers in the Delhi government, along with hundreds of AAP supporters, had been protesting outside Rail Bhavan in Central Delhi, bringing central government offices around Central Secretariat to a virtual standstill.
From time to time, a concerned Kejriwal had been discussing the issue with his team and taking stock of the situation.
When he emerged from Rail Bhavan at 4.36 pm after one such brainstorming session, he looked a tad worried. AAP leader Yogendra Yadav, close behind, also looked concerned. He was enquiring about a public interest suit that had been filed in the Supreme Court against Kejriwal and Law Minister Somnath Bharti for resorting to “agitation and street fight” for demanding the removal of certain police officers. Earlier in the day, a Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam, had admitted the PIL and posted it for a hearing on Friday.
Another round of brainstorming took place an hour later at the adjacent Press Club of India, with Kejriwal closeted in with his trusted aides, and by late evening the protest had been called off and “victory of the people” claimed.
Even as these were taking place, some fast-paced developments were happening behind the scenes.
The Centre was refusing to give in to the AAP demands but it was in a bind, given that the Republic Day parade was around on the corner. So, Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung was asked to intervene and get the matter sorted out. It is learnt, after a meeting between President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh late in the evening, Jung was asked to talk to Kejriwal and offer him a “face-saver”.
Until late afternoon, AAP supporters on ground-zero were a charged lot — sloganeering against the Delhi Police, waving the tricolour and squatting on the streets. Prashant (29) a web-designer insisted: “This is the only way to make Delhi Police accountable. For 15 years, Sheila Dikshit (former CM) kept claiming she was petitioning the Centre for control of the Delhi Police. But nothing happened. So, the usual methods will not work. We will have to agitate.” Another protester, Robin (35), an engineer, had taken leave of absence from work to join the dharna. “Women safety is our top priority and we have to bring the Delhi Police on track. This is not anarchy; this is peaceful protest.”
But AAP’s problems aggravated when the protest took a violent turn, with supporters pulling down barricades and pelting stones and policemen. AAP spokesperson, Atishi, confessed it was a matter of grave concern, as the dharna was meant to be peaceful. Also, AAP is believed to have lost a significant amount of public sympathy when Kejriwal and his aide Manish Sisodia questioned the legitimacy of a Republic Day parade. AAP leaders were reported to be “discussing” their course of action until past 6.30 pm.
Ashutosh, another AAP spokesperson, even went on record to say “we have a plan for Republic Day, there will be no disruptions. We are open to dialogue. Kejriwal is a responsible chief minister”.
The Congress, which has given outside support to the Delhi government, appealed to AAP to call off its ‘dharna’; and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party lambasted the party for its “anarchist” tactics “to garner votes for its Lok Sabha election debut. But Kejriwal and his team cited “ideological reasons” for calling off the protest.
