'Dharna CM' now tells protesters to be reasonable with demands

Guest teachers call of strike after appeal

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose own protest on the road ahead of the Republic Day parade gave security agencies a scare, on Thursday, claimed that contractual teachers agitating against his government were being unreasonable.

A little after the remark, the protestors called off their strike.

The Chief Minister said some of the guest teachers, protesting outside the Delhi secretariat for two weeks, wanted their services to be regularised within 24 hours.

“We told them this was not feasible,” Kejriwal said, adding that they were being unreasonable despite the government accommodating most of their concerns while setting up a committee to look into the issue.

Dharna politicking

The activist-turned-politician, who protested on January 20-21 seeking action against allegedly lax policemen, said: “I do not want people to be forced to sit on a dharna.”
“I personally went to meet the protesting teachers,” he said, claiming that no chief minister in Delhi has ever gone to meet protesters from the All Guest Teachers’ Association to resolve the matter.

They were not willing to give us four months to solve their problem, he said. “They told me that they were demanding regularisation of all guest teachers for four years, I asked them to give us four more months but they did not agree,” said Kejriwal.

A few hours after Kejriwal’s appeal for more time, the agitating teachers called off their agitation. Education Minister Manish Sisodia met the teachers before the strike was withdrawn.

DTC workers

The contractual employees in Delhi Transport Corporation have also been on strike at the Millenium Bus Depot on the Yamuna banks. They are also seeking regularisation of service.

Kejriwal said the striking DTC employees were also not showing patience.

“They have to give us more time, they have to show some patience,” said the Chief Minister, claiming that a 13-member committee had been formed to look into the issue and its report was expected in one month.

Kejriwal said the government assured the striking teachers that they would not be sacked even if their contracts end in May but they wanted nothing but immediate regularisation of service.

The chief minister said 600 buses had gone off the road due to the DTC employees’ agitation.

He warned the agitators that the government would make fresh recruitments in their place and not consider them while regularising services of contractual employees after the 13-member panel gives its report.