Bharatiya Janata Party leaders termed the protest by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and three of his ministers at Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal’s office as a “mockery of democracy”, and accused them of “arm twisting”.

Kejriwal and his colleagues have been sitting at the lieutenant governor’s office for over 19 hours to protest against a strike by bureaucrats in the state. One of the ministers, Satyendar Jain, began an indefinite hunger strike on Tuesday morning. Before they started their protest, the Delhi Assembly had accepted a resolution demanding full statehood for the national Capital.

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party had created an illusion during 2013 and 2015 Delhi Assembly elections, and is now creating another illusion by demanding full statehood for Delhi keeping in view the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, reported PTI.

Tiwari said that the demand of full statehood requires debate and Kejriwal should participate in it instead of staging a protest at the lieutenant governor’s office. “Making [a] mockery of democracy,” he tweeted. “No work, only drama.”

Tiwari further said that he would lead a march to Kejriwal’s house on Wednesday morning to protest against the water crisis in Delhi, according to PTI.

BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta alleged that Kejriwal and his minister were indulging in “arm twisting and threatening” to influence the lieutenant governor into accepting their demands, reported PTI. “Forcible occupation of the L-G office, dharna on the road and illegal demand for action against IAS officers clearly establish anarchist mindset of Kejriwal and his team,” he said.