Kejriwal warns AAP supporters will flood Rajpath

All roads leading to Raisina Hills in Lutyen's Delhi have been barricaded and four metro stations continue to be shut

Arvind Kejriwal has refused to move his dharna venue to Jantar Mantar saying he is the Delhi Chief Minister and he can sit on dharna wherever he wants to. The CM said: "Shinde should not shut the metros. The whole area has been cordoned off, tiolets in the buildings are closed. Who is Shinde to decide where we will protest? I am the CM of Delhi," according to a news report on IBNLive.com.

On the second day of his protest, Kejriwal on Tuesday upped the ante, threatening to flood Rajpath, the venue of Republic Day celebrations, with lakhs of supporters demanding action against policemen who refused to carry out a raid on an alleged drug and prostitution ring, reports PTI

 

He ruled out any negotiations to scale down the protest, saying the safety of women in the capital is not a matter of negotiation.

 

“We will continue our protest. How can Home Minister (Sushilkumar) Shinde sleep when so many crimes are happening in Delhi? When women are unsafe in the city? We won’t negotiate,” Kejriwal told reporters.

Kejriwal, his six ministers and about 200 workers of his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) slept on the roadside near Rail Bhawan in the heart of Delhi, where they began an indefinite protest on Monday. 

Unlike Monday, hundreds of AAP supporters thronged the venue of the dharna outside Rail Bhawan in the high security area close to the venue of Republic Day preparations. Disorder prevailed outside the four-km quadrangle around South Block, North Block and Rashtrapati Bhavan - these areas, being readied for the Republic Day, were kept out of bounds, guarded by 3,000 policemen.

Kejriwal has threatened to continue the dharna for 10 days if his demand is not accepted. His firm stance also casts a shadow on this year's Republic Day celebrations, as it might not be possible to hold a parade if a stalemate continues. The Delhi Police, on its part, has made it clear it will not countenance disruption of Republic Day.