NEW DELHI: AMID the tussle between the political and bureaucratic wings of the Delhi government over governance matters, Finance Minister Atishi, on the floor of the Delhi Legislative Assembly on Monday, stated that the BJP knows that, no matter how hard they try, they will not be able to defeat Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Therefore, they have placed the bureaucracy in front of the CM to impede the city’s work. She, however, mentioned that the BJP will not be able to come to power in the national capital despite deploying these tactics.
While discussing the obstacles created by the Finance Department in the functioning of the Public Works and Health departments and the Delhi Jal Board, the Delhi Minister said that the government has a surplus budget, and there is no shortage of funds. “The budget has been increased two-and-a-half times in the past eight years. There is no lack of funds; there is a surplus budget. The only problem is that the Finance Department is not ready to release the funds,” she alleged.
Atishi mentioned that they had raised a demand for the Delhi Jal Board’s second installment of funds in August, but a simple routine file was not processed by the Finance Department. “The Finance Department has bad intentions. They alleged financial mismanagement in the Delhi Jal Board, and despite my writing to the Finance Department to name any corrupt official, they have not replied and stopped the funds,” she said.
She further added, “There are over Rs 1,200 crore worth of previous bills lying pending with the Delhi Jal Board. Whatever is happening in Delhi is orchestrated by the BJP. The saffron party knows they cannot defeat Kejriwal in Delhi, and they are using officers to impede the Delhi government’s work. The officers themselves are scared because they are threatened to hamper the work (of the government). Despite this, the AAP will again return to power, and the BJP will lose even the eight seats it has (at present) in the assembly polls of 2025.”