The tussle between the Arvind Kejriwal Government and Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) Vinai Kuma Saxena is expected to intensify in the days to come as the former has accused Raj Niwas of not clearing a file that would allow Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to go to Singapore to attend the World Cities Summit scheduled for August 2-3. There was no immediate reaction from the L-G’s office on the matter.
“Several files are stuck with the Lt-Governor for many days because of a lack of administrative experience. Among these is the file for the CM to go to Singapore to attend the World Cities Summit. That file has been pending for three weeks,” a source said.
Kejriwal had said on June 2 that the High Commissioner of Singapore Simon Wong had invited him and he had accepted the invitation. Sources said that the file was sent to Saxena on June 7. Sources claimed that even files on small issues are "stuck" with the L-G’s office and it may affect governance and cause long delays in public interest work in Delhi.
According to protocol, any Minister including the Chief Minister or his Deputy, has to take approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs for official visits abroad. The file seeking such an approval is routed to the MHA through the L-G. The World Cities Summit is an exclusive platform for Government leaders and industry experts to address liveable and sustainable city challenges, share integrated urban solutions and forge new partnerships. It is jointly organised by Singapore's Centre for Liveable Cities and the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
Earlier this week, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that Saxena had permitted a probe into allegations of irregularities in the construction of Government hospitals without following the due procedure of taking permission from the Delhi Government.
He said that Saxena’s predecessor, Anil Baijal, had concluded that it was a “frivolous” complaint and it was “politically motivated”. “Now the new L-G has reopened the investigation by transferring it to the ACB,” Sisodia said. Terming the case “fake”, he wrote to the L-G, requesting him to withdraw the permission given for the probe. He alleged that BJP leaders were trying to stall the construction of more Government hospitals in Delhi by filing frivolous complaints.
Earlier this month, some AAP MLAs including Atishi had accused the L-G of "intruding" in the Delhi Government's work and "conspiring" to derail democracy as he visited two Delhi Jal Board facilities and a sewage treatment plant on June 4.
After meeting Saxena, the MLAs, including former Delhi Minister Somnath Bharti alleged that the L-G told them that not just the Delhi Development Authority and the Delhi Police, but the “whole of Delhi is under his control”. Bharti said that the L-G made this statement when the AAP MLAs raised several issues before him including some pertaining to law and order.
