NEW DELHI: Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Sunday alleged that the Centre hijacked an event of the Arvind government at the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary with the Delhi Police putting up banners carrying pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the venue last night.
He said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was supposed to attend the event but decided not to participate following the incident. Kejriwal had also skipped the weekly meeting with Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Friday, against the backdrop of the L-G recommending a CBI probe into alleged lapses and irregularities in the implementation of the Delhi government’s excise policy.
Rai alleged that the Delhi Police acted on the directions of the Prime Minister’s office. The ‘Van Mahotsav’ which started from the Central Ridge on July 11 was to culminate with the plantation of 1 lakh saplings at the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary on Sunday.
“The Delhi Police reached the location of the event last night and took control of the pandal and the stage. They forcibly put up banners carrying pictures of PM Modi... Banners carrying photos of Lieutenant Governor and Chief Minister Kejriwal were taken down,” Rai alleged at a press conference here.
The Delhi Police warned of action if the banners carrying pictures of PM Modi were removed. They threatened the officers involved in the preparation to step back, while the banners belonging to the AAP government were torn down, he claimed.
The L-G and the Chief Minister were supposed to attend the event and all preparations had been made, he said. “An event of the Kejriwal government has been turned into a political event of PM Modi and he was not even going to attend it... Following the incident, the Delhi chief minister and I have now decided not to participate in the programme,” he said.
Rai told reporters that the banners carrying pictures of PM Modi had been put up on an LED screen installed to show educational programmes to children. There was no response from the PMO or Bharatiya Janata Party to the allegations of the AAP till the filing of this report.