Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's car was found abandoned in Ghaziabad two days after it was stolen (File)
Arvind Kejriwal's complaint to the Delhi Lieutenant Governor on the theft of his blue WagonR car last week has earned him a rebuke on "parking in designated places". In response to Mr Kejriwal's letter on the theft, Lt Governor Anil Baijal has said that "the chief minister is expected to cooperate with policemen in their efforts to ensure parking of vehicles in designated places."
The WagonR was stolen from outside the Delhi Secretariat on October 12 and was
found abandoned in Ghaziabad two days later.
On October 13, Mr Kejriwal had written to the Lieutenant Governor, who represents the centre in Delhi, saying the theft pointed towards "rapidly deteriorating law and order situation in the national capital".
"What can the common men expect in a state where the chief minister's car goes missing? Delhi's law and order has been rapidly deteriorating over the last few months. Police and law and order come directly under you," the Chief Minister had written.
In his reply, Mr Baijal wrote, "Hope that the CM would not only cooperate with Delhi Police in its efforts to motivate and encourage residents of Delhi to park their vehicles in authorised parking sites and install security equipment, but also boost the morale of its policemen by appreciating their commendable efforts that led to the recovery of his stolen car within two days."
Mr Baijal, apparently stung by Mr Kejriwal's dig on law and order "coming directly under you", said he regularly reviewed law and order situation of Delhi and various decisions were taken in meetings with the police commissioner and other senior officers.
The WagonR car, used by Mr Kejriwal till the 2015 assembly election, ably accessorised the taxman turned politician's "Aam Aadmi" image and was even the venue of meetings.
Registered in the name of the Aam Aadmi Party, it is currently used by the party's media coordinator Vandana.
The vehicle was "donated" to Mr Kejriwal by Kundan Sharma, a software engineer, in January 2013. Even after he became Chief Minister in December that year, he refused to use an official car and preferred his old WagonR.