Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Tuesday wrote to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urging him to advise his Ministers to refrain from making “unproductive and poorly evidenced assertions which are both misleading and obstructive in nature”.
Mr. Saxena was rebutting a letter written to him by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia accusing him of “bulldozing the law” to favour the BJP, by allowing the Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) to probe the allegations of irregularities in awarding tenders for the construction of seven temporary hospitals in 2021 by the Delhi Public Works Department (PWD).
A complaint about the alleged irregularities was lodged by BJP’s Lok Sabha MP Manoj Tiwari.
The Deputy Chief Minister had written to the L-G on June 21 in this regard, terming the case “fake” and “disgraceful” while asking Mr. Saxena to withdraw the permission given for the probe. Mr. Sisodia had alleged that the BJP leaders were trying to stall the construction of more government hospitals in Delhi by filing frivolous complaints.
In his letter to Mr. Kejriwal, the L-G wrote, “It is both sad and surprising to note that the Deputy Chief Minister has made factually and legally incorrect statements on the subject matter while unnecessarily politicising a desirable administrative action.”
Mr. Saxena said the Delhi High Court in its judgement on August 4, 2016, held that as per the Constitutional scheme of governance of Delhi, the “services” fall outside the purview of the Legislative Assembly of Delhi.
The L-G added in his letter added that the permission to conduct an inquiry into the complaint of corruption against PWD officials was granted after careful examination and in strict accordance with the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and the provisions of law as settled by the courts.
He also reminded the Chief Minister of their agreement over “zero tolerance” for corruption while expecting the Chief Minister’s cooperation to this end.
Mr. Saxena said that the alleged irregularities were yet to be inquired into by the ACB and that the assertion by the Deputy Chief Minister that the matter was closed by the previous L-G Anil Baijal after conducting a thorough enquiry “appears strange”. He added that Mr. Sisodia’s unverified claims were unwarranted and appeared to be an attempt to mislead the public on the issue.
