The BJP alleged on Saturday that the AAP government had squandered public funds on lunches that cost ₹13,000 per person at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence last year, a charge denied by the ruling party.
Demanding the government’s resignation, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta, alleged that the Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation organised two lunch parties last year on February 11 and 12 for 50 and 30 persons respectively which cost over ₹ 11 lakh.
Union Minister and senior BJP leader Piyush Goyal termed it “mind boggling”. “The government is a custodian of public funds entrusted to it by taxpayers. But Kejriwal and his party have been misusing funds for two years for its political needs,” Mr. Goyal said.
‘File not cleared’
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia denied the allegations saying he never cleared the file for the expense which was sent to him.
“The so-called food bill of ₹13,000 was sent to me by officers for clearance a year back, but I never approved it. The files have been with the then L-G Najeeb Jung’s office for the past six months. It seems the L-G’s office has leaked it now under pressure from the BJP,” he said. He said the files were being selectively leaked to defame the AAP government ahead of the upcoming polls of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
Mr. Gupta alleged that the catering arrangements were made by a leading five-star hotel. The permissible limit under financial rules is ₹1,250 per person for hosting a lunch in non-five star hotels, he said.
