'Sheesh Mahal' row: AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj, Sanjay Singh stopped from entering Delhi CM bungalow
New Delhi (PTI): AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Saurabh Bhardawaj were stopped from entering the Delhi chief minister's official residence, which they had invited the media to tour with them in a bid to counter the BJP's "Sheesh Mahal" jibes.
Police set up barricades and deployed personnel in front of the 6, Flagstaff Road, bungalow, preventing the AAP leaders from entering the premises.
The AAP leaders invited the media on a tour of the chief minister's residence, which the BJP claims was turned into a "Sheesh Mahal" during Arvind Kejriwal's tenure.
Asked if they had sought permission to visit the residence, Singh and Bharadwaj told reporters, "Why should we need permission to enter the chief minister's residence?"
They were seen speaking to officials at the bungalow, requesting permission to be allowed inside.
"Who has instructed you to stop us? I am a minister and I am here for an inspection. How can you stop me and on whose orders? Have you received directions from the lieutenant governor? He is the only authority above my position," Bharadwaj was heard telling an official.
Addressing a press briefing earlier, Bharadwaj had said, "As promised, we will visit the chief minister's official residence at 6, Flagstaff Road, at 11 am and try to find the golden commode, swimming pool, and mini bar that the BJP claims are present there"
"It should be noted that both these properties are government residences. They were built with taxpayers' money and came up during the Covid pandemic. If there are allegations of misappropriation of funds, both should be investigated," he added.
Singh and Bharadwaj also had said that they would take reporters to the prime minister's residence, which AAP has dubbed "Raj Mahal" and claimed was built at a cost of 2,700 crore.
The "Raj Mahal" jibe is part of AAP's counter allegation that the prime minister leads a luxurious lifestyle.
The 6, Flagstaff Road, bungalow has sparked controversy over alleged irregularities in its renovation and costly fittings and household goods present in it.
The BJP has focussed a big part of its assembly election campaign around these allegations, dubbing the bungalow "Sheesh Mahal".
The saffron party's Delhi chief Virendra Sachdeva has claimed that valuable items, including a "golden commode", were missing after the bungalow was vacated by Kejriwal.
On Tuesday, AAP challenged the BJP to open the prime minister's residence for a media visit to reveal the reality while also offering to take reporters on a tour of the chief minister's bungalow.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Modified scheme to provide cashless treatment for road accident victims nationwide: Nitin Gadkari
New Delhi, Jan 8: The government will come up with a modified scheme by March to provide cashless treatment for road accident victims nationwide, under which they will be entitled to a maximum amount of Rs 1.5 lakh per accident per person, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday.
According to Gadkari, the scheme will be applicable to all road accidents caused by the use of motor vehicles on any category of road.
The National Health Authority (NHA) shall be the implementing agency for the programme, in coordination with police, hospitals and State Health Agency etc.
The programme will be implemented through an IT platform, combining the functionalities of the e-Detailed Accident Report (eDAR) application of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the Transaction Management System of NHA.
"The broad contours of the pilot programme are -- victims entitled to cashless treatment up to a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh per accident per person for a maximum period of 7 days from date of the accident," Gadkari said while addressing a press conference.
The government will come up with a modified scheme by March this year.
On March 14, 2024, the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) had launched a pilot programme to provide cashless treatment to road accident victims.
The pilot programme -- initiated in Chandigarh -- was aimed at establishing an ecosystem for providing timely medical care to the victims of road accidents, including during the golden hour.
The pilot project was later expanded to six states.
The road transport and highways minister also said the government is studying labour laws to frame a policy for fixing working hours for commercial drivers, on the lines of pilots, as driver fatigue is resulting in fatal road crashes, Gadkari said, adding that India is facing a shortage of 22 lakh drivers.
MoRTH organised a two-day workshop on January 6, and 7, 2025 to holistically deliberate issues, solutions and next steps to be taken to help drive transformation in India's road transport sector.
During the two-day workshop, accelerating implementation of Vehicle Scrapping Policy, pan-India adoption of PUCC 2.0, timelines for introduction of BS-VII norms were discussed, along with expected reduction in pollution with the norms.
Gadkari also launched the scheme for pan-India setup of Driver Training Institutes (DTI) which provides incentives for setting up DTIs and additional incentives for integrated infrastructure of ATSs and DTIs.
The minister stressed on the introduction of specific regulations and guidelines for improving E-Rickshaw safety, given the proliferation of e-rickshaws across the country.
Gadkari said deliberations were done for introduction of Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) for trucks and strict enforcement of retro reflective tape for transport vehicle safety.
Implementation of monitoring centers & vehicle location tracking devices (VLTD) for safety of women and children were also discussed.
The meeting also discussed the launch and integration of all faceless services by the end of March 2025.
"Further, a Committee of Secretaries with representatives from States, MoRTH and NIC will work towards standardization of faceless services modules, document standardization for registration," he added.
