Why Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra got more oxygen than they asked for, but Delhi less: HC asks Centre
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Thursday asked the Centre as to why Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra were given more oxygen than they asked for while Delhi's allocation was not increased as per the request of the AAP government.
The query was put to the Centre by a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli which during the hearing said the central government has to either show some justification for this or "make amends" now that the situation has been brought to its attention.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the central government will respond to the court's query and will give the reasons for giving more oxygen to Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
"There are states which received less than what they had asked for. We have been rationalising," Mehta said.
Senior advocate Rahul Mehra placed before the court a list of oxygen demand by several states and allocations made to them and said that only Delhi was not being given what it was asking for, while others were getting more than or close to what they were asking for.
The court was hearing several pleas on the oxygen crisis and other issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic which the national capital is presently grappling with.
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
