Arvind Kejriwal's remarks came after two women were allegedly shot dead. (FILE)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said the national capital would have been the safest place had law and order been under the AAP dispensation instead of the Lt Governor.
His comments, however, drew a sharp reaction from Union Minister Meenakashi Lekhi, who claimed that Kejriwal does not understand the law. Harish Khurana, the spokesperson for the BJP's Delhi unit, on the other hand, accused him of trying to settle political scores with Lt Governor VK Saxena.
Mr Kejriwal's remarks came after two women were allegedly shot dead by assailants over a suspected financial dispute with their brother in southwest Delhi's RK Puram on Sunday morning. Three men have been arrested in this connection.
"Our thoughts are with the families of the two women. May their souls rest in peace. The people of Delhi have started feeling quite insecure. Those who are responsible for handling the law-and-order situation in Delhi are hatching a conspiracy to take control of the Delhi government instead of fixing the situation," Mr Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi.
"Had the law-and-order situation been under the AAP dispensation instead of the L-G, Delhi would have been the safest," he added.
The AAP had attacked Mr Saxena over the alleged "deteriorating" law and order in the city earlier as well.
Reacting to Kejriwal's comments, Ms Lekhi told PTI, "I want to remind the people of Delhi that this is the same Arvind Kejriwal whose MLAs were involved in (the) Delhi riots. They were involved in killing IB (Intelligence Bureau) officer Ankit. Gulel (catapults), guns (and) petrol bombs were supplied by these people. Can such people be given the responsibility of law and order?" The Union Minister of State for Culture stressed that the RK Puram incident was the fallout of personal enmity.
She said, "Wherever such an incident has happened, the role of the government is to register an FIR and take strict action against the accused and produce them in the court of law.
"The system of trial courts is under the Delhi government. So, whenever this case comes up in the court, in this case, the Saket court, you should ensure that the guilty are punished." When asked about Kejriwal's allegations, Lekhi said, "The person who does not understand the law is sitting as the chief minister. I am surprised at this."
Responding to the Delhi chief minister's allegations, Mr Khurana told PTI, "Arvind Kejriwal is trying to settle his political score with the Lt Governor. How many times did he meet with the Delhi Police commissioner or with the L-G on the issue of law-and-order situation of the state?"
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)