09.33 pm: Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday night met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the government grappled with the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s sit-in here.
Shinde’s meeting with the Prime Minister came sometime after a meeting of the Union Cabinet.
There has been talk that the Home Minister was consulting legal experts on the issue of proceeding against Kejriwal who has made serious charges against him on money exchanging hands for transfer and posting of SHOs of Delhi Police.
Shinde left the Cabinet meeting but returned after 45 minutes to meet the Prime Minister. As he reached the Prime Minister’s official residence, the Cabinet meeting had just ended.
He was with the Prime Minister for nearly 20 minutes.
There was no official word on what transpired at the meeting which came as Delhi witnessed an unprecedented face-off between the Centre and Kejriwal who today began a dharna in front of Rail Bhavan calling himself an “anarchist” and asking “honest” police officials to take leave and join his protest demanding action against some of their colleagues.
07.56 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be spending the night at the AAP protest site outside Rail Bhavan.
In another development, the Delhi BJP plans to hold a protest on Tuesday demanding resignation of AAP leaders Somnath Bharti and Saurabh Bhardwaj.
06. 38 pm: Delhi Transport Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj was Monday detained by police during a mass protest, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said. Police denied the claim.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the minister was detained near where Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was holding an unprecedented protest in the heart of the capital.
But Joint Commissioner of Police Mukesh Kumar Meena said: “We deny that police detained him. He went and sat inside the police vehicle on his own.”
Meena also denied that his men beat up AAP legislator from Model Town Akhileshpati Tripathi.
Minister Bhardwaj insisted that he was detained while trying to reach the protest site.
“I was with two volunteers when police threatened me … and that I can be arrested. They took us to their van and detained us,” he said.
04:45 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has sparked another row with his statement that he would ensure that Rajpath remains crowded with people and that he would not let Republic Day celebrations take place in the national capital.
Arvind Kejriwal said, “What is the point of celebrating Republic Day when women are getting raped in Delhi. If our dharna is hampering preparations, Centre is responsible.”
Somnath Bharti said there is no need to celebrate Republic Day.
04:40 pm: The Rapid Action Force was called in as Kejriwal and his Cabinet colleagues refused to move their dharna to Jantar Manar.
04:25 pm: AAP is trying its best to divert issue since the court ordered an FIR against Somnath Bharti: Haroon Yusuf, Congress.
04:20 pm: Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely on AAP dharna-
Delhi CM is sitting on dharna leaving all works demanding suspension of 3 police officers and save his two ministers.
It seems the AAP government again wants to implement the Rowlatt Act of British times.
Executive agencies can’t misuse law. There is a difference between running a government and running an agitation NGO.
04.10 pm: AAP workers clash with Delhi Police personnel at their protest venue.
04.10 pm: Ugandan high commission tells MEA it didn’t contact AAP stating its citizens are being forced into prostitution, as claimed by the ruling party of Delhi.
03.50 pm: Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari walks to office as AAP protesters surround his car.
We are ground level workers, such protests don’t affect us: Manish Tewari.
Delhi Police resorted to lathicharge on AAP supporters at Jantar Mantar after a scuffle between AAP leaders and policemen.
Earlier, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said that Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung has ordered a judicial probe into the allegations of inaction against five Delhi Police officers by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
He urged Arvind Kejriwal to end his street protest in keeping with the dignity of his office.
Shinde rejected Kejriwal’s demand for bringing Delhi Police under the AAP government.
“The LG has taken big steps in the form of a judicial inquiry. The responsibility will be fixed,” Shinde said.
Asked about Kejriwal’s protest, Shinde said the chief minister should have faith in the judicial inquiry.
“He should keep faith keeping in view the dignity of his post. Cooperation is a must,” he said.
Shinde said orders banning the assembly of four or more people were in force around the home ministry and other central government offices due to the impending Republic Day.
Watch: Ugandan women victim of sex racket: Somnath Bharti
2.29pm: No truth in the charges of racism, Ugandan women are not accused but the victims: Yogendra Yadav
2.25 pm: AAP government has exposed Delhi Police incompetence, Yogendra Yadav
2.15 pm: Kejriwal protest is anarchy: Manish Tewari
Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari has termed the protest sit-in by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues as “constitutional anarchy” and “gimmickry”.
Tewari, speaking on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi, said Kejriwal’s protest sit-in against alleged police inaction “is not going to work”.
“It is constitutional anarchy… They’re resorting to gimmickry,” said Tewari on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s protest sit-in to demand suspension of police officials for disobeying the orders of two ministers.
“I am worried about the message it is sending to obscurantist, reactionary and conservative males — that they can resort to vigilantism if they don’t like the way a woman dresses or the work she does with her life,” said Tewari.
1.40 pm: Whole country is watching how AAP is spreading anarchism, says Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde.
1.35 pm: Delhi Police asks Kejriwal to shift his dhrana to Jantar Mantar from Rail Bhavan
1.30 pm: Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti calls Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde a corrupt politician
m: AAP asks its workers to converge at the Rail Bhawan park
1.25pm: AAP asks its workers to converge at the Rail Bhawan park
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with his cabinet colleagues on Monday held a protest over alleged police inaction after they were prevented from reaching the union home ministry office at Central Secretariat.
Kejriwal, who became the chief minister last month, and his cabinet colleagues wanted to protest, as planned earlier, outside the Union Home Ministry office in North Block.
But his car was stopped right before Raisina Road, near Rail Bhavan in New Delhi, the seat of the central government.
Police officials tried to persuade the chief minister not to proceed ahead.
A police official said Kejriwal and his colleagues were barred from going ahead at least till noon since the Republic Day Parade rehearsal was going on.
The Aam Aadmi Party has alleged that policemen did not cooperate with Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti during his vigilante-style raid on Wednesday night and on Minister Rakhi Birla’s complaint concerning “improper action” in a dowry case.
However, he and his colleagues decided to begin their protest in a park off Rail Bhavan
India Today Online brings you live coverage of the dharna:
Kejriwal’s addresses media in park near Rail Bhavan
1.20pm: For the next 10 days the Delhi govt will function from protest venue, all decision of the cabinet will be taken here: Kejriwal
12.40 pm: The dharna will continue for 10 days and if there is any constitutional crisis, the Centre would be responsible for that.
12.35 pm: Kejriwal appeals honest cops to quit their job and join AAP
12.31 pm: Proper inquiry into the criminal cases is not done, some cops are on payrolls of powerful people in Delhi
12.30pm: Prostitution thriving in Delhi with the help of police
12.30 pm: There has been a rape and the police claims a probe is on. But just a probe isn’t enough
12.20pm: Kejriwal addresses media from the park near Rail Bhavan after being denied entry near MHA office.
12.15pm: Kejriwal sits on dharna in a park near Rail Bhavan after being stopped.
12.10 pm: Kejriwal creating unnecessary trouble for people of Delhi, says BJP
11.45 am: Kejriwal refuses to move out of car, says he will wait inside till 12 o’clock.
11.45 am: Kejriwal may be allowed to move near the MHA building for dharna after 12 noon after Republic Day parade rehearsal gets over.
11.40 am: Protesters wearing saffron cap raise slogans against AAP minister Somnath Bharti
11.28am: Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde refuses to accept Kejriwal’s demand, says action will be taken against cops only after investigation.
11.20 am: Police stopped Arvind Kejriwal near Rail Bhawan while he was on his way to Union home ministry office for dharna.
10.15 am: UP police has also accompanied Arvind Kejriwal till the Delhi Secretariat, they will follow him through out.
10.10 am: Sources say, Kejriwal’s team will not be allowed into the MHA.
10.00 am: According to latest reports, media has been banned from covering the dharna and is not being allowed in the MHA.
9.50 am: Kejriwal’s Cabinet meet ahead of the dharna.
9.45 am: 4 metro stations have been closed till 1 pm to deter people from arriving at the protest site.
In wake of the protest called by the Aam Aadmi Party, four Metro stations – Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhawan and Race Course – will remain closed from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday.
Heavy security deployment around Union Home ministry ahead of Kejriwal’s dharna.
Section 144 imposed
Police seem in no mood to allow AAP leaders and activists anywhere near North Block, the proposed venue of the dharna. The department has imposed section 144 in and around Parliament House, North and South Block, central vista lawns and Vijay Chowk, outlawing assembly of more than five people from Sunday to Wednesday. DCP (New Delhi district) S B S Tyagi said the CM was free to protest at Jantar Mantar.
