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This is an archive article published on March 1, 2024
War of words continues | Sidestepping: L-G slams CM on water bill scheme; govt hits back
The Delhi government, in response, said, “He (L-G) could have taken the path of action against erring officers or at least called the CM for a discussion on such an important issue raised by an elected head of the government
3 min read
Delhi L-G V K Saxena; CM Arvind Kejriwal. (Express File Photo)A day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to L-G VK Saxena and said he was “pained” at the language used in the letter written to him, the latter said that the CM’s “colleagues in the government and party” had used improper language against him several times in the past.c He also said that Kejriwal and his colleagues had been restrained by the Delhi High Court from making defamatory statements against him. The war of letters between the two constitutional functionaries broke out on Wednesday after AAP leaders passed a resolution in the Delhi Assembly stating that the BJP exercised direct control over the L-G. In his letter to Kejriwal on Wednesday, Saxena wrote that the Speaker be asked to expunge this portion from the resolution.
Earlier in the day, Kejriwal reiterated that work was being stalled by officers, who were not following orders passed by ministers. He also said that he cannot ask the Speaker to expunge anything. “Is the Speaker working for me? Is the LG so ignorant that he doesn’t even know that there are three branches of government- Judiciary, Legislature, and Executive? Is he unaware of the fact that the Speaker is an independent constitutional authority and does not report to the Chief Minister? Who am I to convey anything to the Speaker? I cannot say anything to the Speaker,” he said. Saxena’s letter to the CM on Thursday, meanwhile, said that the CM had “chosen to completely sidestep the substantive issue on the so called ‘water scheme’”.
“The 7-page reply that you have written to me does not address even a single substantive issue raised by me,” Saxena wrote, adding that even though he had been blamed for stalling the scheme, Kejriwal had not answered whether a proposal had been finalised. “I am also yet wondering whether the supposed ‘scheme’ was finalised by DJB on 13.01.2023 or 13.06.2023. It remains a mystery as to how even as the proposal for the supposed ‘scheme’ was shuffling between your Ministers and DJB till 21.02.2024, the Assembly passed the resolution blaming me on 19.02.2024,” Saxena wrote.
He also took on Kejriwal for alleging that work in Delhi had been stalled since he had taken over as L-G. “You have said that work has been stalled ever since I took over as Lt. Governor… I also recall your incessant abusive statements against my predecessors, Shri Najeeb Jung and Shri Anil Baijal, against whom you and your ministers sat on dharna in his office for a full week,” he wrote.
The Delhi government, in response, said, “He (L-G) could have taken the path of action against erring officers or at least called the CM for a discussion on such an important issue raised by an elected head of the government. But instead he chose to ignore the wrongdoings of the officers and once again resorted to accusing the CM and elected government in crude language that even political opponents rarely use… LG saab is free to accuse the Hon’ble CM and Ministers to his heart’s content by writing such long letters every day. But we request him to please allow the Delhi government to work and serve the people of Delhi without any obstruction or hurdles…”
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