NEW DELHI: Delhi minister Atishi on Sunday said not inviting Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the inauguration of a new metro line, despite the central and Delhi governments contributing equally to the DMRC, reflects a "narrow-minded" approach.
The nearly two-km extension of the Airport Express metro line from the Dwarka Sector 21 to YashoBhoomi Dwarka Sector 25 stations was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.
The line was opened to passengers later in the day.
Delhi BJP general secretary Harsh Malhotra said Atishi, who is "crying" over the chief minister not being invited to the event, needs to answer several questions from Delhiites and say whether "Team Kejriwal" can cite one example of inviting the leader of the opposition in the Assembly for the inauguration of any project funded by the city government.
Addressing a press conference, Atishi pointed out that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is a 50:50 venture between the Centre and the city government.
"Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the metro line from Dwarka Sector 21 to Yashobhoomi. It is an extreme disappointment that he did not feel it appropriate to invite the Delhi chief minister to the inauguration," she said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said since the establishment of the DMRC, half of its funds are given by the Centre and the other half by the Delhi government.
"With the coordination between the central and Delhi governments, the Delhi metro has established an impressive infrastructure. Therefore, it is very disappointing that the chief minister was not invited to the inauguration of the metro line," she said.
Atishi also mentioned that Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) often claim that it is the largest political party in the world.
She also said after the just-concluded G20 Summit, BJP leaders are not getting tired of asserting that Modi is one of the world's top leaders.
"A person who is among the world's top leaders and leads the government of the world's largest party could not even invite the Delhi chief minister for the inauguration of a mere two-kilometre metro line. I would like to tell Prime Minister Modi that he is the prime minister of the country and he should rise above party lines," the AAP leader added.
She also said Modi is the "guardian" of the state governments and not just the prime minister of the BJP.
"In such cases, not inviting the chief minister to (events of) institutions like the DMRC, where the Delhi government has also invested funds, reflects a very narrow-minded approach. I urge the prime minister that Delhi is the capital of the country, if we want to develop Delhi, then the Centre and the city government must work together. The Delhi government is ready to collaborate closely with the Centre. However, it becomes the responsibility of a guardian to involve the Delhi government in decision-making," Atishi said.
Meanwhile, Malhotra alleged that the AAP government in Delhi has not even invited the current lieutenant governor for any project inauguration.