File Photo: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia.
Congress today accused Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of "manufacturing crises to hide his failures" as it slammed Delhi government for not sending any representatives to an "important" Joint Cadre Control Authority (JCCA) meeting.
"Shockingly, at the cadre control meeting held on July 24, Delhi government did not send any representatives, not even the chief secretary, to mention its stand on which officers it wants to retain and other cadre-related issues," charged Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) President Ajay Maken.
"Kejriwal cries foul that he is not being allowed to recruit officers of his choice, but then his government is deliberately boycotting important meetings where such decisions are taken," he further said.
Mr Kejriwal's deputy, Manish Sisodia, had written to the Union Home Ministry on July 23 stating that he would like to represent the Delhi administration at the JCCA meeting. But the proposal was turned down on the grounds that no politician can be a member of the JCCA, which is an administrative set-up of only IAS officers.
"As per my knowledge, no political leader has been allowed to participate in the meeting," Mr Maken said.
Claiming that the ruling AAP was creating a hue and cry about the transfer of the VAT commissioner and the Education Director of Delhi to other Union Territory-cadre postings by the Centre, Mr Maken said that Mr Kejriwal has to respect the laid-down norms, which cannot be changed to suit the convenience and demands of the chief minister.
The former Congress lawmaker alleged that Mr Kejriwal has been creating one crisis after another, be it over the appointment of the Chief Secretary or through claiming that he was being made a victim of politics in the matter of appointment of Shakuntala Gamlin as the acting Chief Secretary, despite the fact that Mr Sisodia himself had cleared her name for the post.
The Congress leader also cited the appointment of DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal to criticise the AAP government.
Congress also ridiculed AAP government's remarks that VAT commissioner Vijay Kumar's transfer would negatively affect revenue collection, saying that revenue collection was on a decline even during his tenure.
Mr Maken claimed that VAT collection has slumped to almost 1.75 per cent in 2014-15 compared to 10.03 per cent in 2013.
"In 2013, the revenue collection in six months, February to July, was Rs 8,493 crore, which increased to Rs 9,345 crore during the corresponding period in 2014. The growth rate, however, declined in 2015 as Rs 9,509 crore revenue was collected from February to July despite increase in VAT on petrol and diesel," claimed Maken.
"During the election campaign, Kejriwal had claimed that revenue collection has declined due to corruption, but the present figures point towards corruption in his tenure," said Mr Maken, the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president.