Delhi sealing drive: Kejriwal blames BJP leaders for cancelling the meeting

A meeting between BJP's Delhi leaders with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the sealing of businesses in residential premises in the capital ended in chaos on Tuesday, with the two bitter rivals blaming each other.

Kejriwal accused a BJP delegation led by Delhi unit President Manoj Tiwari of walking out of the discussion instead of trying to come up with suggestions that could be presented to the Lt. Governor.

"All our MLAs and Councillors had gathered for the meeting with the BJP delegation. But they refused to have a discussion in front of everyone," Kejriwal told the media.

"There is nothing confidential about it. It is nobody's personal issue. It is a public matter. I begged them to sit down, discuss and together find a solution to the sealing drive. They just walked out," he said.

"It was a very good opportunity... Both political parties could have discussed the matter and then approached the Lt. Governor to propose a solution," he added.

The sealing of shops and businesses -- even doctors' clinics -- located in residential premises is being carried out by a Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee. It is being implemented by the BJP-led municipal corporations.

The BJP accused the AAP of sabotaging the meeting.

"The AAP had over 150 supporters at the meeting. We wanted a meeting in a closed room. They misbehaved with our women Mayors and our MLA Vijender Gupta and disrupted the meeting. This is is highly condemnable," Tiwari told reporters.

"When we spoke about the 351 roads (to be notified under mixed use or commercial categories), their MLAs started shouting and didn't let us talk."

Tiwari added: "The Chief Minister started speaking in a way as if he was addressing a public rally."

He said a complaint had been filed at the Civil Lines police station against what he said was an attack on his party leaders.