Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena on Saturday asked the Delhi government to expedite the process of budget presentation in the Assembly, saying it has been “stalled for no apparent reason” despite the document being ready to be tabled in the House.
In a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the L-G said the budget proposals were sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs for the approval of the President on February 15.
The budget document has been lying with the Delhi government since February 19 after it was given “due clearance by the Government of India”, Mr. Saxena said.
In response, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said the budget file had been sent to Mr. Saxena for approval.
“The budget [file] was received by Finance Minister Atishi with the President’s nod around February 20. It is a financial document of utmost importance for the entire fiscal, so due diligence at the micro level is required, and this takes time,” the party statement read.
The Budget Session started on February 15 and was extended up to the first week of March after the government cited delays in the preparation of the Budget.
The session was initially set to conclude on February 21.
Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri accused the Delhi government of deliberately delaying the budget to allow the Chief Minister to skip questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the excise policy case.
