Kejriwal urges all parties to unite for full statehood

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday appealed to all political parties to unite to demand complete statehood for the national capital and announced a city-wide campaign for the same.

"It's not just the Aam Aadmi Party's fight... All parties should come together to support this demand. We will convene an all-party meeting soon to seek support for complete statehood for Delhi," Kejriwal told a gathering of party workers at the Indira Gandhi Stadium. 

"I want to remind Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his promise to grant full statehood to Delhi. If he doesn't deliver on it, his party will not get a single seat in the next elections," the chief minister said. 

The lack of statehood was the reason behind the continuous tussle with the Lieutenant Governor and the alleged strike by bureaucrats, according to Kejriwal. Once Delhi becomes a "full state", it would witness spurt in the development work, the AAP chief said, adding his party was fighting for the dignity of Delhi's voters. 

The Delhi Assembly had recently adopted a resolution on "full statehood" during a special session. At that time, Kejriwal had said he would campaign for the BJP if the Centre granted full statehood to Delhi. 

The AAP also launched a signature campaign titled "Delhi Mange Apna Haq" on Sunday to drum up support from 10 lakh people on the full statehood issue. 

The campaign will start on July 3 and end on July 25. The signatures collected will be handed over to the prime minister.