Kejriwal fails to draw crowds as fast enters third day
Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal’s failed to draw crowds on the the third day of his indefinite fast on Monday, though the party claimed it received support from 1.12 lakh people ready to stand up against inflated water and power bills.
Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal’s failed to draw crowds on the the third day of his indefinite fast on Monday, though the party claimed it received support from 1.12 lakh people ready to stand up against inflated water and power bills.
At the venue of the fast, the congested Sundar Nagari slum redevelopment area in northeast Delhi, hardly a 100-odd people had gathered to hear the leader.
Justifying the poor response to the civil disobedience movement— people have been urged not to pay ‘inflated’ water and power bills—AAP leaders, including Kejriwal, said the movement was unique in nature and had not been created to gather to establish support.
“We have mass support towards our movement and our supporters have been asked not to gather here and waste their time. They have been asked to knock on the doors of the common people at residential colonies and slums and prepare them and speak to them so that they do not pay the faulty bills,” he said.
Nearly 7000 volunteers are working in 264 asahyog kendras (non-cooperation centers) round the clock and spreading the message in all corners of Delhi, AAP leaders said.
He said people from all walks of life had started standing up against the “corruption of the Delhi government and private companies”, which has led to an exorbitant rise in electricity and water bills in the national Capital.
By the end of the second day on Sunday, nearly 75,737 more protest letters addressed to Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit were signed, taking the count to 1.12 lakh, said Manish Sishodia, another AAP leader, present at the venue.
Independent councillor of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, Vinod Kumar Binny, who has recently joined the AAP, announced they would hold monthly mohalla sabhas (colony meetings) for decentralised governance, in his ward.
An activist, Kiran, had come all the way from Sikkim as a mark of solidarity with the movement.