Meeting rescheduled due as official not available, says AAP
New Delhi, June 18: Delhi's ruling AAP on Monday that the government had to reschedule a meeting on status of rations due to non-availability of the Food Commissioner.
Food and Supply Minister, Imran Hussain had, on Monday, called for a meeting to "review the distribution of ration in Delhi", but due to the unavailability of Food Commissioner Mohanjeet Singh, it had to be rescheduled for Tuesday, Aam Aadmi Party spokesman Saurabh Bhardwaj told the media here.
Hussain had called the meeting to review the status of availability of ration at the fair price shops and for distribution of ration to eligible ration card holders for the month of June.
"The basic protocol requires that whenever an IAS officer is not able to attend any meeting called by a minister, he or she should at least write to the minister stating their reason for the absence. But there was no intimation from Mohanjeet Singh's side," Bhardwaj said.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter to highlight the absence of IAS officials at the meet, despite their announcement they they are not on strike.
"Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain reschedules the meeting of Food & Supply Dept tomorrow over ration supply issues as none of the officials and IAS turned today for the meeting called by the minister," he tweeted.
Kejriwal, along with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and cabinet ministers Satyendra Jain and Gopal Rai, had been camping at the Lt. Governor's office since June 11, demanding a direction to the IAS officers working in the Delhi government to end their undeclared strike and take action against officers who have struck work for "four months".
The face-off ensued after Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash alleged in February that he was assaulted by two AAP MLAs in the presence of Kejriwal at the Chief Minister's residence. Following this, the IAS officers in Delhi were not attending routine meetings called by the ministers.
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Right to vote under threat, must be made fundamental right: Cong's Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged on Thursday that the right to vote is under threat and the time has come when it should be made a fundamental right for citizens.
Speaking with reporters, Ramesh lashed out at Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, saying the Election Commission (EC) has never been as compromised as it has been under him.
"The rot started under his predecessor. This man is a player and not a neutral observer," the Congress leader said, slamming Kumar.
Kumar is completely compromised and has become a player in elections, he alleged.
"Home Minister Amit Shah had talked about three Ds -- detect, delete and deport. So we want to know how many non-Indian citizens have been detected, how many have been deleted and how many have been deported," Ramesh said, adding that the right to vote is now under threat.
On opposition parties submitting a fresh notice in the Rajya Sabha, seeking to move a motion for the CEC's removal, the Congress leader said they will continue to make efforts for Kumar's removal as he is "compromised".
Ramesh also batted for the right to vote to be recognised as a fundamental right.
"I believe that the time has come that the right to vote should be made a fundamental right. It is a statutory right, it is not a fundamental right. Fundamental rights are justiciable," he said.
The former Union minister said this was discussed in the Constituent Assembly, but it was eventually decided that it should be made part of the Constitution.
B R Ambedkar and Jagjivan Ram had warned that in the future, governments might try to disenfranchise voters, he added.
"Once and for all, include the right to vote as a fundamental right for Indian citizens," Ramesh asserted.
