Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday called off his nine-day sit-in at the office of Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal to protest against an alleged strike by Delhi IAS officers. Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said the sit-in had been called off after bureaucrats started attending meetings at the Secretariat. Kejriwal and three Cabinet colleagues have been on a sit-in protest in Baijal’s office since June 11 demanding the Lt Governor’s intervention in calling off the alleged strike by IAS officers and seeking approval for the doorstep ration delivery scheme. Sisodia and health minister Satyendar Jain had also started a hunger strike. Both ministers were discharged on Tuesday.

According to Sisodia, IAS officers attended several meeting on Tuesday. “Arvind Kejriwal will come out of the L-G office. It was not a dharna. We were waiting to meet the Lieutenant Governor,” he said. After leaving the Lt Governor’s office, Kejriwal went to his house immediately and addressed a gathering of MLAs and party volunteers. “The protest was a battle for democracy as the PM was trying to infringe on the federal structure of the country,” he said.

He added that 99% officers had worked for the betterment of Delhi and that the battle would end only after Delhi is granted full statehood. Earlier in the day, Lt Governor Baijal, in his first communication to Kejriwal since the sit-in began, wrote to the chief minister asking him to meet officers “urgently” to address concerns of both sides through dialogue.
The letter was written in response to Sisodia’s request to Baijal on Monday for a meeting between the government and bureaucrats to end the impasse.

A statement from Baijal’s office said: “Hon’ble LG requested Hon’ble CM to urgently meet the officers in the Secretariat so that apprehensions and concerns of both sides can be suitably addressed through dialogue in the best interest of the people of Delhi.”
Kejriwal had also assured Delhi bureaucrats that he will ensure the “safety and security” of all officers. “… He has been informed that the officers have also welcomed the appeal and they are awaiting Hon’ble CM’s presence in the Secretariat to hold discussions,” the Lt Governor’s office said.