Delhi LG VK Saxena (L) and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (File).
New Delhi:
Amid the festering AAP vs BJP row – kicked into high gear last month after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest – Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena wrote to the Union Home Secretary to complain of a “lack of seriousness” by Delhi government’s ministers when called to meetings at the LG’s office.
Mr Saxena’s office has alleged a lack of cooperation from Delhi’s Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj. Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, and Public Works Department Minister Atishi, when summoned to discuss problems with Delhi’s medical infrastructure and “routine works of governance”.
“… instead of solving issues (the ministers) indulged in public mud-slinging and refused to meet the Lieutenant Governor citing lame excuses…” the LG’s office said in the letter, criticising Mr Bhardwaj for his response; the AAP leader had said “I do not think (this) meeting can be called without the directions of the Chief Minister. Please convey (this to the Lieutenant Governor).”
“The rationale for not attending the meetings appears vague, and exhibits a lack of seriousness and insensitivity to matters affecting day-to-day lives of the citizens of Delhi, the LG’s office declared.
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Two such meetings were called – on March 29 and April 2. The AAP leaders – embroiled in a fierce battle with the BJP over Mr Kejriwal’s arrest in the alleged liquor policy scam – skipped both.
Mr Bhardwaj and Ms Atishi had earlier produced ‘orders’ from Mr Kejriwal pertaining to Delhi’s healthcare and water and sewerage system, despite the AAP boss having been in custody of the Enforcement Directorate and then in Delhi’s Tihar Jail since his arrest on March 21.
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In the letter to the Union Home Secretary today, Mr Saxena flagged both those instances. The BJP has slammed the AAP leader for running the government from jail, and has demanded he resign.
The ruling AAP and the Lieutenant Governor (including Mr Saxena’s predecessor) have gone toe-to-toe on various issues in the past, including in February, over the political party “stalling the (Delhi) budget for no apparent reason” and in July over appointing the city electricity body chief.
The current flashpoint comes not only with the Lok Sabha election 11 days away, but also amid the AAP’s protests over Mr Kejriwal’s arrest. The first sitting Chief Minister to be arrested, he had been sent to jail till April 15, but may get relief when the High Court rules on his petition Tuesday.
READ | “Undertrial Prisoners Have No Right To…”: Arvind Kejriwal Bail Hearing
A separate bench of the High Court rejected – for a third time – a plea to direct Mr Saxena, or the centre, to remove the Chief Minister. “He (Mr Saxena) doesn’t need our guidance. We are nobody to advise him. He will do whatever he has to, in accordance with the law,” the court had said.
READ | “Let Democracy Take Its Course”: Plea To Remove Kejriwal Rejected
Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, the pressure is on the BJP to repeat its clean sweep of Delhi’s seven Lok Sabha seats. The AAP – a member of the Congress-led INDIA opposition bloc – meanwhile, is scrambling to claim what would be its first ever Lok Sabha win from the national capital.
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