Kejriwal announces indefinite hunger strike over 'statehood for Delhi' demand from Mar 1
New Delhi, Feb 23: Raising the pitch on the issue of statehood for Delhi ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said in the Assembly that he will launch an indefinite hunger strike from March 1 to press the demand, terming it "aar-paar ki ladai" (final battle).
The AAP-dominated Assembly also adopted a resolution demanding that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs take necessary legal and legislative steps to declare Delhi a "full-fledged" state without any further delay.
"I will sit on an indefinite hunger strike from March 1 to organise people for the full statehood demand. Even if we die in this movement, we will gladly do so but this 'aar-paar ki ladai' will continue and Delhi will get full statehood," Kejriwal said in the House.
Kejriwal had staged hunger strikes in his earlier avatar as an anti-corruption activist before the formation of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and this will be first such stir after becoming chief minister of Delhi in 2015.
In March last year, the AAP chief had threatened to go on a hunger strike on the sealing issue but later changed his mind.
Speaking on the issue of full statehood during the budget session of Assembly, Kejriwal took a dig at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Centre's alleged interference in Delhi's affairs.
"I want to tell the Prime Minister to handle Pakistan which he has not been able to do, and give the Delhi Police and MCD to the people of Delhi," he said, alleging that problems of poor law and order and insanitation are being faced by the people in the national capital.
Accusing both the Congress and the BJP of "back-stabbing" Delhi over full statehood issue, Kejriwal said their governments exploited people of the city.
"Even the Britishers did not commit so much atrocities. Delhi people pay Rs 1.5 lakh crore as Income Tax and received only Rs 325 crore from the Centre. No matter which party was at the Centre, they sucked Delhi's blood," the chief minister alleged.
Full statehood will mean better law and order and women safety. Delhi will become clean city like London and Paris and every household will have its own house, he claimed.
"We will give house to each voter family in 10 years after attaining full statehood. We will give employment to youths, regularise ad-hoc employees, open universities and send corrupt and inefficient officers to jail because Modi government will not be able to have our files," he promised.
The resolution questioned how a politically nominated Lt Governor could act as a "super-boss" of a democratically elected council of ministers in Delhi.
"This House resolves that the NDMC area in Delhi, which is governed by the NDMC Act be kept under the exclusive control of the central government, and the rest of NCT of Delhi be declared a full-fledged state," it added.
AAP leaders said Kejriwal will hold meetings with party MLAs, MPs and office bearers over the weekend to plan the full statehood movement.
The party has been ratcheting up pressure on statehood issue, especially after the Supreme Court recently delivered a split verdict on the contentious issue of control of services in the National Capital Territory between the Delhi government and the Centre and referred the matter to a larger bench.
A two-judge bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan held that the three areas in which the Delhi government will have powers are appointment of special public prosecutors or law officers, fixing land revenue rate and power to appoint or deal with electricity commission or board.
The apex court ruled that the Delhi Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) cannot probe central government employees. It said the Centre has the power to appoint Enquiry Commission.
The AAP has expressed unhappiness over the verdict, saying it will go to the people's court as it has not got justice.
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Commercial LPG hike: Delhi restaurant owners warn of higher menu rates, job losses
New Delhi (PTI) A day after a 50 per cent rise in commercial LPG cylinder prices, Delhi's food business, with restaurant owners and street vendors have warned of higher menu rates, financial strain and potential job losses if the trend persists.
The price of commercial LPG was hiked by a steep Rs 993 per 19 kg cylinder, marking the third consecutive monthly hike amid rising global energy prices linked to the West Asia conflict.
For many in the restaurant industry, the spike has been both sudden and steep.
Manpreet Singh, honorary treasurer of the National Restaurant Association of India, said that eateries are already grappling with supply challenges alongside rising costs.
"There is a huge difficulty in getting these cylinders, and black marketing is also increasing in many unregulated sectors," he said, noting that prices that were once around Rs 1,600, often dropping to nearly Rs 1,300 with discounts, have now surged to between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 per cylinder.
He further added that a medium-sized restaurant typically uses between two and five cylinders daily, making the increase particularly burdensome as costs mount.
Singh further said that as costs mount, smaller establishments could struggle to stay afloat. Instead, the association has advised restaurants to shift towards piped natural gas connections through Indraprastha Gas Limited as a more sustainable alternative.
"If this problem continues, PNG is the only long-term solution," he said, adding that temporary measures like coal offer limited relief due to slower cooking times and that it can largely be used only for tandoors.
Echoing similar concerns, Kabir Suri, owner of Mamagoto in Khan Market, said the impact is already visible across the industry. "There has been almost a threefold increase in cylinder prices for restaurants," he said, adding that rising fuel and logistics costs are compounding the pressure.
"If this continues, it will become a significant financial burden, and food prices will inevitably go up. Adding to this burden, higher fuel costs are also affecting logistics and transportation, making a price rise unavoidable. The extent of the impact will vary between small eateries and large chains depending on their scale," he said.
Global oil prices have surged nearly 50 per cent following disruptions in energy supply chains due to the West Asia conflict, pushing up commercial fuel costs and transport expenses.
A West Delhi-based restaurateur said they are trying to manage rising costs while keeping their staff secure. "We are trying to ensure that our staff, from kitchen workers to waiters, are paid on time and do not face immediate hardship," the owner said.
"We are a small restaurant with seating for about 20 to 25 people at a time. But if this continues for long, we will have to take difficult calls. There is only so much we can absorb, and menu prices will have to go up. We hope this does not continue for a longer period," he said.
Another restaurant owner in North Delhi, who did not wish to be named, said operational adjustments alone may not be enough. "We are checking our costs very carefully and trying to cut wherever possible, but if fuel prices remain high, it will eventually affect how we run the business," the owner said.
"Coal helps in tandoor cooking, but it takes more time," the owner further added.
The strain is even more acute among street vendors, many of whom operate on thin margins. A vendor in Saket said he had recently expanded his business, moving from a mobile cart to a rented outlet.
"I have a family to feed and more responsibilities now. Earlier, I managed with a moving cart, but after renting the place, expenses increased," he said. "Whenever cylinders were unavailable, I had to buy them at higher rates in the black market. Now even regular supply is too expensive, and if this continues, we may have to shut down," he added.
In Laxmi Nagar, another vendor said they are struggling to keep the business running. "Sometimes we even used domestic cylinders from home when supply ran out because we had to keep the stall running," he said, adding that rising costs leave little choice but to increase prices or bear losses.
On April 1, the rates of commercial LPG cylinders were hiked by Rs 195.50 per cylinder, followed by a Rs 114.5 hike on March 1, taking the total increase over the past three months to Rs 1,303. With the latest revision, a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder now costs Rs 3,371.5 in Delhi, up from Rs 2,078.5 earlier.
The prices of domestic LPG cylinders used for household cooking have remained unchanged. They were last increased by Rs 60 per 14.2 kg cylinder on March 7 and currently cost Rs 913 in Delhi.
