All arrangements to manage crowds failed. ‘We had expected 600-700 or a maximum of 1,000 people and arrangements were made accordingly. The people have faith that their problems will be heard and resolved. So they have high expectations. I want to bridge the gap between government and people so I came out of my office to sit on the footpath,’ said Kejriwal adding that he did not get any input from local intelligence about how many people may turn up. The chief minister also emphasised that he wants to meet people directly and listen to their problems without any mediator, so he opted for Janata Darbar. ‘If I fix a particular time to meet people in my office, those coming after that time will not be allowed to enter or the bureaucracy will act as the primary filter defeating the very motive of direct interaction with people,’ said Kejriwal.
The chief minister also said applications have been accepted and people’s problems will be resolved. ‘I could not meet them, for which I have apologised to them. But I have received their applications and their issues will be resolved,’ he said. The chief minister said Janata Darbar has been suspended for three to four days and the next schedule will be announced after better arrangements for crowd management are in place. ‘We will continue it but only after we have better arrangements to handle the crowd,’ he said. The CM said only option was to order lathi charge to disburse the unruly crowd but he opted to go to the roof of the Delhi Secretariat building and request the people to go home. ‘Some had come to just greet or congratulate but many had genuine problems,’ he added.
Janata Darbar was scheduled at 9.30 am but the over 6,000-strong crowd forced the chief minister to cancel it within half an hour. The security forces escorted the chief minister and other ministers safely into the secretariat. The grievances at Janata Darbar were mainly related to employment issues – which included contractual labourers of DTC, teachers on contract, people without jobs and people sacked from private sector companies.
Besides, problems related to admissions, corporations, neighbourhood as well as family disputes were reported at Janata Darbar. The principal opposition BJP, in a press release, has slammed the government for such populist measures. According to Delhi police, over 500 cops were deployed to manage the crowd and the entire area was barricaded. Senior officers of Delhi police and Delhi government were managing the crowd.
Later in the evening, Kejriwal said 2,582 grievances have been registered at the public grievance hearing and the government has started working on their redressal. ‘Despite all the chaos today, 2582 grievances registered. Govt has started working on their redressal (sic),’ Kejriwal wrote on Twitter.
The chief minister also said applications have been accepted and people’s problems will be resolved. ‘I could not meet them, for which I have apologised to them. But I have received their applications and their issues will be resolved,’ he said. The chief minister said Janata Darbar has been suspended for three to four days and the next schedule will be announced after better arrangements for crowd management are in place. ‘We will continue it but only after we have better arrangements to handle the crowd,’ he said. The CM said only option was to order lathi charge to disburse the unruly crowd but he opted to go to the roof of the Delhi Secretariat building and request the people to go home. ‘Some had come to just greet or congratulate but many had genuine problems,’ he added.
Janata Darbar was scheduled at 9.30 am but the over 6,000-strong crowd forced the chief minister to cancel it within half an hour. The security forces escorted the chief minister and other ministers safely into the secretariat. The grievances at Janata Darbar were mainly related to employment issues – which included contractual labourers of DTC, teachers on contract, people without jobs and people sacked from private sector companies.
Besides, problems related to admissions, corporations, neighbourhood as well as family disputes were reported at Janata Darbar. The principal opposition BJP, in a press release, has slammed the government for such populist measures. According to Delhi police, over 500 cops were deployed to manage the crowd and the entire area was barricaded. Senior officers of Delhi police and Delhi government were managing the crowd.
Later in the evening, Kejriwal said 2,582 grievances have been registered at the public grievance hearing and the government has started working on their redressal. ‘Despite all the chaos today, 2582 grievances registered. Govt has started working on their redressal (sic),’ Kejriwal wrote on Twitter.