In the midst of his bitter tussle with the Lt Governor, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today resolved to take back Delhi government's powers from the Centre within the current term and said the city can be granted full-statehood within 10 days, if Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants.
In an address at an "open cabinet" to mark 100 days of AAP government, Kejriwal said the Centre's notification giving absolute powers to the Lt Governor reflected its "dictatorial attitude" and accused the BJP-led government of taking revenge against people of the city for handing the party a crushing defeat in the assembly polls.
"The fight to liberate us is on alongside work. This fight will continue and I hope that in the next five years, we will get back the powers that the Centre has taken from Delhi," he said.
Presenting a report card of his government, he said no other government in the country has ever achieved so much in the first 100 days. All the ministers also presented their achievements and interacted with the people.
"We don't want to fight with the Centre. We want to work together. The first thing we did after winning was to meet Prime Minister Modi. We told him you have full majority in the Parliament and we have the same in the Assembly. This is a golden opportunity bestowed by God upon us. If PM and we converge then I think Delhi would get full statehood in 10 days," Kejriwal said.
Referring to the notification issued by the Home Ministry, he said, "Issuing such notification amounts to dictatorship and the public will avenge such decisions."
"We never thought they would get down to take revenge against the people of Delhi in this fashion. I think we should accept people's verdict and work together," he said.
Among the officials who were present in the event included Shakuntala Gamlin, the IAS officer whose appointment as acting Chief Secretary by Lt Governor Najeeb Jung had triggered a full-blown war between him and Kejriwal.
Chief Secretary K K Sharma was also present at the event.
