The political tension in the city, before the civic body polls is palpable. Multiple reports have surfaced in the media questioning the conduct of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. On Wednesday, Ajay Maken, President of the Delhi State Congress, announced on Twitter that he had received the Shunglu Committee report under the Right to Information act. He claimed that the details of the report will be shared by the Congress party today at noon.
However, someone in the power circles in the national capital had different plans. The Shunglu Committee Report was leaked to the media last night itself — taking away the “exclusivity” of Maken’s planned press conference.
The committee was formed on the orders of former Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, comprising of former Comptroller and Auditor General VK Shunglu, former Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami and former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar.
Reportedly, the committee refers to irregularities in the appointment of Soumya Jain, daughter of Health Minister Satyendar Jain, as the advisor to the Mission Director of the Delhi State Health Mission. According to the Indian Express, the report stated, “She is an architect and rules do not permit such appointments. There is no approval on file of her appointment. Nevertheless, an appointment order was issued, an expenditure of Rs 1.5 lakh was incurred between April 18, 2016, and August 14, 2016, when she resigned. The amount was refunded by cheque and no document to explain the refund.”
The committee report also points out abuse of power in the allotment of 206, Rouse Avenue to the AAP.
According to the committee, the AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal “usurped” powers of top bureaucrats and process of the governance under the Constitution were violated.
“After coming to power, it appears the AAP adopted a different approach vis-a-vis powers under Constitution of India. Chief Minister told Lt Governor that reserved subject files will be submitted to him only after going through the CM. L-G clarified his (CM’s) misunderstanding of Transaction of Business Rules,” stated the report. It reportedly, further added, “The order, marked to secretaries, stated that files should be marked to the appropriate level and L-G should not be bothered. Despite clarification by the L-G, ministers continued to draw support from CM’s communication in transacting business.”
Meanwhile, AAP has questioned the timing of the leak – which comes right before the civic body polls in Delhi. The IT Cell head of the party, Ankit Lal tweeted: