AAP says LG has allowed IAS officers to file cases in court against Assembly

New Delhi :  In the escalating war with the Delhi Lt Governor, the ruling AAP’s Petitions Committee on Saturday alleged that the Lt Governor has allowed IAS officers to move the High Court against the Assembly over “irregularities” in desilting work taken up by the PWD and the civic bodies.

The Petitions Committee cited RTI queries to support its claim. AAP MLA and chairperson of the petitions panel Saurabh Bhardwaj said the panel had recommended an inquiry into the irregularities in the desilting process.

“The Chief Secretary and the then PWD Secretary instead of agreeing to investigate charges of corruption have chosen to challenge the Petitions Committee report in the High Court. We have RTI replies that reveal that the LG allowed these IAS officers to file cases in the high court,” said Bhardwaj.

The RTI replies also exposed huge payments to advocates, who defended these IAS officers in corruption cases, said Bhardwaj. “The payments were made from the government exchequer on LG’s instructions,” alleged Bhardwaj.

“On the other hand, lawyers who represented the Delhi Assembly and its Committees have not been paid for the last two years at the behest of LG,” he said.

Last year, the Petitions Committee members had visited over 100 drains across Delhi. “It was found that most of the reports related to desilting submitted by MCDs and PWD to the Assembly Committee as well as Delhi High Court were fabricated and were far from reality,” the MLA said.

The drains which were shown to be as 100 per cent desilted and cleaned were found overflowing with filth and garbage, he said.

“The Assembly Committee had recommended an inquiry into the deep-rooted corruption. The LG who headed the Anti-Corruption Bureau and Vigilance department did not initiate the enquiry. The committee had also recommended action against the then PWD Secretary Ashwani Kumar, but the LG chose not to act,” said Bhardwaj.

“Instead of punishing the officer, the Central government promoted him as Chief Secretary of Puducherry,” he said.

The Delhi High Court on Friday asked Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash to appear before a Delhi Assembly Committee. Prakash had challenged the Privileges Committee notice directing him to appear before it for skipping a meeting on February 20, a day after he was allegedly assaulted by AAP MLAs.

The LG and the AAP government have been locked in a fierce battle over various issues. The ruling party has alleged that the LG has stalled development works at the behest of the BJP-led central government.

 Published on: July 14, 2018 at 20:42 IST

IANS