In another confrontation between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) Vinai Kumar Saxena, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday accused the latter of delaying approval to the ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ campaign to tackle vehicular pollution “on the pretext of leave from work”.
He said the L-G should stop making “excuses and sign the file immediately” as combating pollution “is the collective responsibility of all of us”.
On Thursday, Mr. Rai had said that the campaign, earlier scheduled to be launched on October 28, was postponed as the Delhi government was yet to receive the L-G’s permission. The file was sent for Mr. Saxena’s approval on October 21, he had said.
The campaign sought to deploy 2,500 civil defence volunteers for encouraging people to turn off their vehicle engines at red lights at 100 busy intersections across the city, with Mr. Rai claiming the move would reduce vehicular pollution by 15-20%.
In response, sources at Raj Niwas on Friday said Mr. Rai had “lied to the people of Delhi” as the file sent to the L-G by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal mentioned October 31 as the rollout date for the campaign.
One source added that while the file was sent on October 21, the L-G’s office opened only on October 27. “Files sent to the L-G are not perfunctory in nature. They require proper consideration and application of mind,” the person said, alleging that Mr. Rai’s comments were intended “to coerce the L-G into a decision”. The source added that Mr. Saxena was out of office with prior commitments, including dedication of artificial waterfalls at Asola Bhatti wildlife sanctuary.
Hitting back a few hours later at a press conference, Mr. Rai said no chief minister, minister or governor goes on a week-long leave. “By using the holidays to obscure a mistake, one is playing with lives of the residents of Delhi.”
Admitting that the original date of launch in the file was October 31, Mr. Rai said the Chief Minister later instructed to roll out the campaign on October 28 due to fears of pollution levels spiking post Diwali. “This information was released in the entire media on October 22, which might have been overlooked by the L-G, so he is resorting to such absurd excuses,” he added.
Meanwhile, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slammed Mr. Rai and the AAP government for hurling accusations at the L-G. Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said the matter showed how the Chief Minister, his ministers and party leaders were “lying” that the campaign was to be launched on October 28 and that the L-G refused to give permission.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said Mr. Rai’s “conduct” at Friday’s press meet “clearly reflected his frustration” as his “false statement got exposed”. “The minister could not today present any letter requesting the L-G for early clearance of the related file.”
Reiterating BJP’s claims, Mr. Kapoor also said the ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ campaign was not a scientifically proven anti-pollution measure and that “Mr. Rai has not presented any document to prove it”.
This is the third stand-off between the Delhi government and the L-G in a week. Last Wednesday, while approving the designated ghats along the Yamuna river for observing Chhath Puja, Mr. Saxena had raised “concerns” and criticised Mr. Kejriwal for announcing on Twitter about the arrangements even before the L-G’s nod. The AAP had “strongly” objected to the language used by the L-G and said he was “lowering the dignity of the chair he occupies by publicly abusing the CM every day“. On October 21, while approving the Statutory Annual Reports of the Lokayukta for 2017-18 and 2018-19, the L-G had hit out at the Chief Minister for “delaying them for three years”. The AAP had responded by saying the L-G should “stop behaving like a school headmaster”.
