'Gundagardi': AAP vs BJP in Delhi, Kejriwal Claims Centre Obstructing Budget Presentation | News18 Chaupal

A fresh row seems to have sparked between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre, as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday alleged that the Centre has put on hold the presentation of the Delhi government’s budget in the Assembly on Tuesday. Bracing the stage at the News18 India Chaupal event, Kejriwal accused the central government of ‘gundagardi.’

“There will be no budget presentation in Delhi tomorrow. It has happened for the first time in the history of India that the budget of Delhi Govt was to be presented yesterday and this evening the central government has put a hold on it today,” said Kejriwal during the conclave.

Further, taking potshots at BJP, Kejriwal said, “We made a wonderful government school in Rohini, but BJP members were standing with black flags asking why I am inaugurating the school. When children of rickshaw pullers and laborers get an education in such a school, they feel proud.”

MHA’s decision to not approve the budget will leave an impact on the salaries of Delhi government employees, he said. “The Delhi government employees, including doctors and teachers, will not get their salaries on time,” he said.

Newly-inducted cabinet minister Kailash Gahlot, who replaced Manish Sisodia as the Finance Minister in Delhi, was slated to present the budget at 11 am on Tuesday. Indications were given that new mohalla clinics and hospitals may be part of the state government’s draft budget.

In light of Kejriwal’s claims, the MHA however said that it has not put any hold on the budget, but has only asked for clarifications from the Delhi government, which it is yet to receive. “The draft budget presented had more allocation for advertising than for infrastructure and hence we sought a clarification which has not come so far,” a senior officer said .

Describing the timeline of the tug of war between the Centre and Delhi over the budget approval, Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena’s office said that the LG had approved the Annual Financial Statement 2023-2024 on March 9. However, certain observations were made and a file was sent to Kejriwal, LG Saxena’s office said in a statement.

LG Saxena’s office further claimed that MHA had also conveyed its observations on March 17 “As mandated by the law, we sent a letter to the Home Ministry and sought the approval of the President. The LG Office is still waiting for the file to be sent to it from Kejriwal,” the statement further read.

MHA said that the draft budget only had 20% allocation for capital expenditure which is inadequate for Delhi since it is the national capital. LG also sought to know why benefits of Central government schemes like Ayushman Bharat were being denied to Delhites.

LG Saxena argued that while the communication seeking clarifications was sent to the AAP-led government four days before the budget presentation, it was the Delhi government that didn’t respond in time, leading to the current crisis.

However, Kailash Gahlot claimed that the Chief Secretary of Delhi kept the letter hidden for 3 days, and he only got to know about it on Monday. “The file with MHA’s letter was put up to me officially only at 6 pm today, just a day before the budget was to be presented in Delhi Assembly. Subsequently, we have responded to MHA’s concerns and submitted the file back to Delhi’s LG, after CM’s approval, at 9 pm,” Gehlot said in a statement.

Gahlot has demanded an investigation into the role of the Chief Secretary and Finance Secretary of Delhi in delaying Delhi’s budget. “It is also unfortunate that MHA is spreading falsehoods about the Delhi government’s budget,” he said.

He also called MHA’s concerns regarding the Delhi budget allocation “irrelevant” and said, “Nearly Rs 22,000 crores have been allocated for capital expenditure next year, whereas the allocation for advertisements is only Rs 550 crore, which is similar to that of last year.”

Notably, LG Saxena had recently ordered the Aam aadmi party to pay Rs 97 crore for state government ads that had allegedly been used for the party’s promotion five years ago.

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