In a symbolic protest aimed at questioning why the Aam Aadmi Party-led (AAP) Delhi Government had let the position of Lokayukta lie vacant to date, the Delhi Congress will stage a march and demand the immediate appointment of a public ombudsman for the Capital on Monday.
Alleging that the absence of a Lokayukta was allowing its “criminal” legislators to run amok, the party’s Delhi chief Ajay Maken said it would also submit a comprehensive petition followed by a memorandum, exposing corruption and nepotism charges in addition to cases of penal offences against 29 AAP MLAs.
“In the absence of a Lokayukta, the people of Delhi have not been able to get their complaints addressed adequately and the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) will submit a memorandum seeking action against 29 AAP MLAs and Chief Minister Kejriwal,” Mr. Maken said, adding, the party would carry an empty chair to purportedly signify that the seat of the Lokayukta continued to remain vacant during the protest.
Mr. Maken added that if the Lokayukta was not appointed immediately, the Congress would come out on the streets and intensify its agitation against the AAP Government for the immediate appointment of a Lokayukta.
According to Mr. Maken, the post of Lokayukta had been lying vacant since the Congress Government demitted office in November 2013 and ordinary citizens had become mere spectators of the “misdoings of the ruling Government.”
The Delhi Police, Mr. Maken complained, filed an FIR against former Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar only when it received a complaint from the Delhi Bar Council about his fake law degree.
“It seems, the AAP Government is deliberately delaying the appointment of a Lokayukta, for if a Lokayukta is appointed, many of its own MLAs would be in trouble for various offences and the police would be forced to take action if the Lokayukta refers a case to it,” Mr. Maken said.
According to Mr. Maken, there were 29 AAP MLAs against whom “serious charges” had been levelled and needed further investigation for which the appointment of a Lokayukta had become inevitable.
Mr. Maken also attacked the AAP-led Delhi Government claiming that its legislators did not want to remain “aam aadmis” any more and, with the blessings of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi Government was fostering a VIP culture as events over the last 10 days had proved.
“Around 200 people have been attached to the Chief Minister who are all AAP volunteers, and consultants with over Rs.1 lakh as salary per month have been appointed, which would be drain on the exchequer to the tune of over a crore of rupees per year,” Mr. Maken alleged.
While most of these appointees were without proper educational qualification, they were found to have been given a year’s time to acquire the qualifications required, Mr. Maken said.
This, Mr. Maken said, was the situation even as AAP legislators were “trying to give a big boost to their salaries and perks” though they had been in power only for around five months even as “no step had been taken to appoint a Janlokpal.”
Delhi Congress would also submit a petition followed by a memorandum, exposing corruption and nepotism charges, in addition to cases of penal offences against 29 AAP MLAs
