Lt Governor's Legal Action Threat Over AAP Leaders' Power Subsidy Claims

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has written a strongly worded letter threatening legal action against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ministers for accusing him of trying to stop the Delhi government's electricity subsidy for the poor.

In the past few weeks, Delhi Power Minister Atishi and Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj had been attacking Mr Saxena over what they claimed was his alleged attempt to derail the Delhi government's power subsidy programme by not clearing the necessary files.

The Lieutenant Governor, denying the allegations as "blatantly false, misleading, accusatory, libellous and defamatory", challenged the AAP government to show evidence to prove that he tried to stop the power subsidy, a widely popular scheme among the urban poor in the national capital.

"I write to you seeking accountability and responsibility with regards to unsubstantiated and false statements made by you and your colleagues in the government and party against me," Mr Saxena wrote in the letter to Mr Kejriwal.

"You are well aware that I have always been committed to power subsidy to the poor and have made the same amply clear in public domain, as indeed in writing on different files on different occasions," the Lieutenant Governor said.

"The omissions and commissions on your part have obviously been deliberate and with an aim to create an imaginary bogey to mislead the people for partisan gains... You are requested to furnish any paper or communication that establishes that the Lt Governor wants power subsidy to be stopped or is conspiring with officers or a political party to stop power subsidy, as is being openly alleged by your ministers and colleagues in the party," Mr Saxena said, adding failing to show evidence would lead to legal action for misleading the people.

On Friday last week, Atishi alleged that the subsidies will be stopped as the Lieutenant Governor was yet to clear the file to extend it. Mr Saxena's office, however, denied her allegation and said the file was cleared.

The Lieutenant Governor also asked why the decision was kept pending till April 4 went the deadline was April 15, and why the file was sent to him only on April 11.

The power subsidy matter was the latest flashpoint between Mr Saxena and the Kejriwal government. AAP leaders have often taken a swipe at the Lieutenant Governor for allegedly trying to harass them on the instructions of the BJP-led central government. Other non-BJP states including West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have alleged the same, with the showdowns reaching the assembly.