14.1.14

Of AAP's Janta Durbar....


It was meant to be a new avatar of a grievance redressal system, paving the way for quick relief for the aam admi. But the first ‘Janta Durbar’ of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government ended in a near stampede.
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was forced to flee his desk set up on the road opposite the Delhi Secretariat after overzealous complainants climbed onto his table and chair and almost trampled him. Later, he reappeared on the roof inside the secretariat complex to appeal for calm, as the durbar timings of 9.30 to 11 am were officially over. “Go back home now,” he told the estimated crowd of about 20,000 people who refused to disperse, angered by the mismanagement. “We will make better arrangements next time,” he said.
For those who came face-to-face with the chaos, it was a far cry from the neat picture of ‘swaraj’ — self-rule — AAP had painted for them.
The announcement of a weekly durbar where the Cabinet would take note of people’s problems had raised the hopes of thousands, who came with petitions and letters. 

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