BJP, Congress seek Delhi CM's resignation, apology

Reacting strongly against the alleged manhandling of Chief Secretary (CS) Anshu Prakash by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs late on Monday night, leaders from both the Opposition parties -- the BJP and the Congress -- raised demands of Chief Minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal's resignation and an apology on Tuesday. The ruling party, however, dismissed the allegations made by the CS.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra accused Kejriwal of "raining down choicest of abuses" on Prakash and claimed that the spat was not caused by an issue of public importance, but over Prakash's objections to his government's demand of releasing funds for advertisements praising the AAP chief.

Calling the incident, that unfolded at Kejriwal's resident, "an act of Urban Naxalism", Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari sought the CM's resignation and a high-level inquiry against him. He also demanded the suspension of the concerned MLAs. "The incident was a result of Kejriwal's chaotic propaganda of the government and the party. It was not the first time such an incident has taken place. Kejriwal and his goons had earlier also turned violent in the Delhi Assembly against several Opposition leaders and officials," he said.

Echoing his sentiments, senior BJP leader Satish Upadhyay said,"The Kejriwal government's fear of losing the by-elections in 20 Assembly constituencies has pushed Delhi into a constitutional crisis and now it is time that the dismissal of this government should be discussed and considered."

Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken also launched an attack on AAP and demanded Kejriwal's apology. "Kejriwal should apologise for this hooliganism which took place before him-AAP Govt is unable to deliver-Beating of Chief Secretary by MLAs in front of CM is another low & is aimed to divert attention from Govt failures! AAP does not know Governance and has failed miserably (sic)," he tweeted.

Former chief minister and senior Congress leader Sheila Dikshit also termed the incident "unfortunate and unprecedented". "Sad situation when the Chief Secretary is being manhandled by MLAs, it is totally unacceptable and very very wrong, makes it worse if the CM was present there. CM himself has been a civil servant, did he ever do this? Or what if this happened to him? Shameful," she said while speaking to media.

The AAP government is at loggerheads with its bureaucrats at the time when the national Capital is staring at by-elections after President Ram Nath Kovind disqualified 20 of its MLAs for holding the offices of profit.