The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) has accused chief minister Arvind Kejriwal of playing to the gallery on the DDCA graft issue, saying if he was serious about unravelling the irregularities committed in the cricket body when Union finance minister Arun Jaitley was its president, then he should endorse the Congress party’s demand for a JPC (joint parliamentary committee) probe, instead of constituting its own inquiry commission without the prior permission of lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung.
The Delhi Congress also blamed the BJP and the AAP for the present plight and financial crunch in the municipal corporations of Delhi, as Delhi, which was earlier known as the “rape capital” of the country, has now become the “strike capital” of the country as well, as various employees’ associations were being forced to resort to strikes and protests for their wages.
Addressing a joint press conference on Thursday, DPCC spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee and leaders of the Opposition in the MCDs — Varyam Kaur, Mukesh Goel and Farhad Suri — said Mr Kejriwal was playing political opportunism and applying double standards in the matter, as on one hand he was asking for Mr Jaitley’s resignation, while on the other hand, he was trying to protect his official allegedly involved in corruption.
Ms Mukherjee said it was not the first time Mr Kejriwal was trying to shield someone close to him. He had also tried to protect guilty ministers of his Cabinet and AAP MLAs involved in various acts of omission and commission, like fake degree and domestic violence, etc. She said Mr Kejriwal’s fight against the DDCA was to grab media publicity, and not because of his earnestness to expose the financial irregularities committed in the DDCA when Mr Jaitely was at the helm of the cricket body. She said it was beyond the purview of the AAP government to constitute a probe panel to enquire into irregularities in the DDCA without the sanction of the L-G. “This is just for media publicity as Mr Kejriwal does not want a serious investigation into the DDCA affair. If he was serious, he should have supported the Congress demand for a JPC probe,” she added.
Ms Mukherjee also condemned the brutal police assault on guest teachers who agitated in front of Mr Kejriwal’s residence demanding their salary. She said Delhi has become not only the “rape capital” of the country, but also the “strike capital”, as now employees of various organisations were being forced to agitate and go on strike for non-payment of their wages. Leaders of the Opposition in the MCD Varyam Kaur, Mukesh Goel and Farhad Suri said the financial condition of the municipal bodies has worsened, as never before, under the BJP and AAP rule in Delhi. They said sanitation staff, doctors and teachers were forced to resort to strikes due to non-payment of their salaries while development works have grounded to a total standstill due to lack of resources and material with the MCD. They said the pensions of widows, old people, handicapped and others have not been paid for the past many months. They said due to the fight between the BJP and the AAP, people of Delhi were suffering. They said the financial crunch in the MCDs could be solved to some extent if the recommendations of the fourth Finance Commission were implemented, as presently, the revenue from house tax collection was just about 25 to 30 per cent, as more people were yet to be brought under the tax umbrella.
