For the last few months, LG V.K. Saxena and CM Arvind Kejriwal have been at loggerheads over various issues.
NEW DELHI: The tussle between the Delhi Government and Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena is not coming to an end and the war of words has intensified over the supremacy issue in the national capital. On 20 January, Delhi LG V.K. Saxena wrote a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. This letter came after Kejriwal accused LG of interfering in the Delhi government works.
In this letter, LG Saxena attacked Delhi CM and accused him of making severely and substantively misleading, untrue and derogatory statements.In the letter, LG referred to the protest by Kejriwal outside his residence Raj Niwas on 16 January. He said that he had invited both CM and Deputy CM for a meeting with him, but CM wanted all MLAs to join the meeting.
“I would have, indeed, loved to have you over and serve you lunch as well. However, you chose not to come on the pretext of wanting to meet me with all your MLAs,” the LG wrote in the letter.
He further said, “You would appreciate that, given the short notice and sudden demand on your part, it would not have been possible at once to have a meeting with 70-80 people, nor would it have served any concrete purpose.”
The LG also accused the Delhi CM of political posturing; he said the city is facing several development issues, but the CM found time for a long walk. “I was rather astounded that while the city is grappling with serious issues, you found time to walk for long and stage a protest meant solely for posturing, rather than taking the issue to a logical conclusion by meeting me,” the LG wrote.
For the last few months, the LG house and Delhi government have been at loggerheads over various issues, the most recent issue being of the LG rejecting the proposal of sending teachers to Finland for training.
LG also responded to this issue in the letter and wrote: “I did not reject the proposal. I raised a few queries with respect to the impact assessment and cost-benefit analysis of such visits which have been going on for the past few years.” He further wrote that he has asked the education department if it could be obtained in a more cost-effective manner in our own institutes like IIMs.
LG also highlighted and discussed other issues relating to education in the national capital. He said that average attendance in schools has fallen down to reach 60.65% in 2019-20 compared to 70.73% in 2012-13. “Enrolment in government schools that stood at 16.1 lakh during 2012-2014, consistently came down to 15.1 lakh in 2019-2020,” he wrote, adding that this happened despite the fact that the population of the city continued to grow during this period.
The LG wrote that he is sure CM Kejriwal is a driven person and will take cognizance of the facts stated in the letter and would take remedial measures to rectify the shortcomings. “I reiterate that I write to you, not only as the Lt. Governor of Delhi, but also as a concerned resident of the city,” the LG wrote while concluding the letter.