Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal, addressing the Delhi Assembly on the first day of the budget session on Wednesday, urged the legislators to make every effort to raise the standard of living of the Capital’s citizens.
Mr. Baijal said Delhi’s gross domestic product (GDP) went up by 50% since 2016-17, indicating that the city’s economy was in a strong position.
“In 2021-22, Delhi’s Gross State Domestic Product on current prices was ₹9,23,967 crore. In the last five years, it grew by 50% compared to ₹6,16,085 crore in 2016-17,” Mr. Baijal said. While mentioning the government’s achievements in various sectors, he added that Delhi’s per capita income in 2021-22 was ₹4,01,922, which was three times higher than that of the country.
Delhi, the L-G said, had the cheapest electricity rates in the country and 91.45% households had availed of the benefits of the government’s power subsidy in 2020-21.
‘Bundle of lies’
Leader of the Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri termed the L-G’s address a “bundle of lies” read out of “compulsion” based on “white lies” of the AAP government’s supposed achievements.
Mr. Baijal’s address was initially disrupted by BJP legislators demanding that the AAP government take immediate steps to make ‘The Kashmir Files’ tax-free for theatre audiences in the city. Terming it “indecent behaviour”, Speaker Ram Niwas Goel asked the BJP MLAs to stop sloganeering.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also responded by asking the BJP MLAs to approach the Centre for waiver of Central GST on the movie, after which Mr. Baijal resumed his address.
Later, Mr. Baijal also said the pass percentage in Classes X and XII at city schools had registered successive growth. The pass percentage in Class X and XII, the L-G said, was 97.52% and 99.14% respectively. The Delhi Teachers University Bill 2022 was also passed to provide professional training to teachers by establishing a dedicated university.
The Public Works Department was constructing 784 multistorey flats in Devanagar for slum dwellers under its in-situ rehabilitation policy while the Delhi Jal Board was supplying 945 million gallons per day water across the city with a network of 15,000 km water pipelines.
“Water is also being supplied in 1,577 unauthorised colonies by the government. Where there is no water pipeline, the government is supplying water through tankers,” Mr. Baijal said.
To this, Mr. Bidhuri said that the Delhi government’s claims related to water and power lay exposed as the L-G, in his address, admitted that even today water was being supplied through tankers in many areas.
“This government came to power accusing the tanker mafia. Since the coming of the AAP government, the tanker mafia is flourishing in full swing. Electricity rates in Delhi are the highest compared to the whole country,” Mr. Bidhuri said.
“Those who do not come under the free category, have to buy the most expensive electricity. In the name of public transport, only two buses have come in the fleet of DTC in the last eight years,” he said.
The BJP said that only Bhagat Singh’s picture was displayed in the Delhi government’s advertisements in newspapers on Shaheedi Diwas and urged Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to ensure that martyrs are not divided.
In addition to asking Mr. Kejriwal to rectify the mistake, the BJP leader requested him to instal a statue of martyr Ashfaqulla Khan near the statues of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru on the Delhi Assembly’s premises.
CM accepts mistake
While paying tributes to the martyrs, Mr. Kejriwal said, “I agree with the Leader of the Opposition that we don’t have to divide martyrs. It was indeed a mistake in today’s advertisement. I accept that mistake and ensure that this will not be repeated,” he said, adding that despite 75 years of Independence having elapsed, the dreams of Bhagat Singh remained unfulfilled.
“No government of any party did anything for the common man. They only indulged in dirty politics. I am happy that the AAP government is honestly working for the common people. AAP governments in Punjab and Delhi have decided to install photos of only Dr. Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh instead of political leaders,” Mr. Kejriwal said in addition to appealing to the BJP to instal photos of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh in its offices.
