Subsidies on power, water, bus fare to stay, says Delhi LG; AAP calls it Kejriwal's victory
New Delhi (PTI): Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Saturday said electricity, water and bus fare subsidies will continue in Delhi as these schemes do not belong to any party and asked people not to pay attention to statements from "vested political interests" that the schemes will be stopped as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is in jail.
Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed that Saxena's statement was a victory for the AAP chief and stressed that till Kejriwal is the chief minister of Delhi, all public works will be carried out and the subsidy schemes will continue.
In a press statement issued by Raj Niwas here, the LG said rumours were being propagated that the central government and the lieutenant governor would stop the subsidy schemes.
"The schemes are part of the budget approved by the Government of India and Lt Governor, and these do not belong to an individual or a political party. Therefore, the question of a scheme getting affected does not arise just because an individual is in jail," the LG said.
The statement comes in the backdrop of the Aam Aadmi Party alleging that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested as part of a conspiracy to stop such schemes introduced by his government in Delhi.
Kejriwal is in judicial custody till April 15 after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to now scrapped excise policy of his government. The BJP has been demanding Kejriwal's resignation.
Referring to LG's statement, Bharadwaj said, "It is a significant victory for CM Kejriwal that even while in jail he has compelled the LG to say that work and free schemes will continue."
Saxena has taken serious note of "patently false and deliberately misleading" statements by members of a particular political party and its ministers that the schemes and subsidies related to "free" electricity, water and bus rides for women will be stopped since Chief Minister Kejriwal is in jail, the statement said.
Bharadwaj said that those who used to say that they would not allow the Kejriwal government to be run from jail have "admitted defeat" that it will run from jail and its works will continue.
"Arvind Kejriwal had promised Delhi people that he will not let any work be stopped whether he is in jail or out of it," he said in a Delhi government statement.
The Aam Aadmi Party leader alleged that Saxena "always tried to obstruct the work of the people of Delhi" through his "favourite officers".
Now, the LG is also saying that the work and schemes of the people will continue in Delhi, instead of stopping the work, he said.
The LG's statement said that he has assured the people of Delhi that none of the subsidy schemes benefitting the poor would be discontinued.
He appealed to them to not pay heed to statements and rumours being spread by "vested political interests".
Saxena underlined that these schemes are paid for by the consolidated fund of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD) and not from the account of any individual or political party.
These schemes are funded by the people of Delhi themselves who contribute to the NCTD's consolidated fund by way of taxes, the statement added.
Saxena reiterated that any scheme especially duly approved by the Government of India and the Lt Governor himself before being introduced and passed by the Delhi Legislative Assembly does not get affected because an individual is in jail under judicial custody as per the due process of law.
Bharadwaj said in a post on X, "The ideology which used to call free water and free electricity as 'revadi' is today promising the people of Delhi that no one can stop Arvind Kejriwal's schemes… People of Delhi, this is the power of your son, Arvind Kejriwal. This is the blessing of the people of Delhi to Kejriwal."
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Stalin lashes out at Centre, calls union budget a 'revenge' against country
Chennai (PTI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday launched a sharp attack against the ruling BJP at the Centre over the 2024-25 Union Budget, calling it a 'revenge' taken by the saffron party against the country and warned it will face more electoral defeats since it was committing "mistake after mistake."
Explaining his decision to boycott the Niti Aayog meeting scheduled in New Delhi under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, Stalin said he was 'compelled' to speak in the people's forum, seeking justice due to the "discriminatory attitude" towards Tamil Nadu reflected in the budget.
The state's pleas for disaster relief to the tune of Rs 37,000 crore and Chennai Metro Rail's second phase were not heeded to, he said in a statement.
Further, the BJP runs "the government with political motive".
"The budget presented on July 23 is evidence of this. In the recently held parliamentary elections, the people of various states defeated the anti-people BJP. The Budget presented by Union Finance Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) seems like a vengeful act against the States and people who boycotted the BJP. Instead of preparing a budget for the welfare of all Indians, she has prepared a budget to take revenge against those who voted for the INDIA bloc," he alleged.
The Union BJP government was disregarding Tamil Nadu continuously.
The Centre has held up funds that should have been released as usual for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, he said and alleged the former is 'adamant' that it will release funds only after agreeing to implement the NEP.
On the announcement that the stamp duty levied by the states will be reduced, he said it was done so without consulting the states. The GST system has already taken away the right of taxation powers away from the states.
"When they have not even disbursed the GST compensation of Rs 20,000 crore to Tamil Nadu, who gave them the authority to alter the tax levying system of the states. The middle-class is suffering without any concession in income tax for the last 10 years. The Union Government is patting their own back for announcing a meagre tax benefit of up to Rs 17,500 per year to individual taxpayers under the NTR (New Tax Regime) when majority can't avail that too," the CM said.
"This is not just a budget taking revenge on Tamil Nadu—it is a budget that takes revenge against entire India! This is a 'save the government budget' of BJP to remain in power. As the voice of the people of Tamil Nadu, in fact, as the voice of all the Indian people, let me say something--You (BJP) are committing mistake after mistake. You will suffer more and more defeats. Just as both houses of the Indian Parliament are in outrage, the hearts of Indian people are also raging against you. The BJP must answer," Stalin, president of the ruling DMK, said.
