“It is people’s victory!” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal declared Tuesday as he called off an unprecedented street protest demanding action against allegedly errant policemen.
After Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung announced that he was sending on leave two of the five policemen against whom Kejriwal wanted action, the chief minister said: “People of Delhi have won a battle.”
“It is for the first time in the history of the country that a chief minister had go on ‘dharna’,” said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader who went on a sit-in in the heart of the capital Monday morning.
Jung appealed to Kejriwal to call off his protest, citing the upcoming Republic Day celebration.
“We respect the appeal,” the chief minister said, adding that the AAP government was committed to bringing Delhi Police — which now reports to the union home ministry — under the Delhi government’s control.
“We will continue our efforts to make them (Delhi Police) answerable,” he said.
Kejriwal also said that members of a family in Sagarpur in west Delhi which was accused of setting their daughter-in-law on fire had also been taken into custody — one of the AAP demands.
“We are committed to women’s security,” he said.
Kejriwal apologized to people for the inconvenience many faced because of the closure of four Delhi Metro stations in the city centre on account of his protest.