AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal has said that there is nothing wrong with chief ministers taking to the streets in protest.
Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister-hopeful in next month's Delhi elections, says he plans to sit on protest or dharnas again on issues that require his attention if he is elected to the top post in the capital.
"I will still sit on dharnas, why is it wrong? What was wrong with the Chief Minister sitting and sleeping in Rail Bhawan. You are all biased against us. If someone is in trouble even if I am CM, I will do it again," Mr Kejriwal, chief of the Aam Aadmi Party, told NDTV.
A year ago, Mr Kejriwal presented the rare sight of a Chief Minister protesting on the streets of the very city he governed. He was protesting against police inaction on a complaint by a minister in his cabinet.
The then Chief Minister had even spent a night out in the winter cold and was famously photographed lying on the roadside bundled in a quilt in the heart of the city. Days later, he would resign after a turbulent 49 days in office, necessitating the elections that will be held in 10 days. He has since admitted that quitting was a mistake.
During that protest, Mr Kejriwal had threatened to disrupt the Republic Day parade on January 26. Last week he cribbed that he was not invited for this year's parade, which had US President Barack Obama as chief guest.
The AAP chief is unfazed by the criticism that he sought a VIP invitation when he could have bought a ticket for the parade like the
Aam Aadmi or common man that he claims to be. "I wanted to go for the Republic Day parade by buying a ticket but you would have said Kejriwal is indulging in dramatics," he said.
Arvind Kejriwal first hit the headlines as a man on protest in 2011; he was then a key aide of Gandhian activist Anna Hazare in his anti-corruption campaign. The two later fell out over Mr Kejriwal's decision to launch a political party.