Police halt AAP drive, Rai slams L-G’s ‘Tughlaqi farman’

The cancellation of the drive followed a prohibitory order by the Delhi Police Commissioner issued Monday. However, Rai said, “The police stopped the event, despite us having prior permission. They arrived unexpectedly and shut it down before I could even reach the site”.

Rai also criticised the L-G for cutting down trees in the Ridge area earlier this year without seeking the necessary permissions.  “The L-G doesn’t require any permission to cut 1,000 trees, but when the Delhi government organises an awareness programme with all necessary permissions, it is forcibly shut down,” Rai alleged.

He slammed the police saying at a time when crimes are on a rise in Delhi, “the police are using their full force to stop a tree plantation drive”. “This action clearly shows the mindset of the BJP, which has remained silent after this decree,” Rai said, urging the L-G to revoke the order. The party, in an official release, highlighted its effort to increase the city’s green area from 20% in 2013 to 23.06% by 2021. In response, BJP spokesperson Praveen Kapoor criticised Rai’s claims highlighting the Supreme Court’s recent observations against the Delhi government’s failure to take meaningful action to increase the city’s green cover.