Activist Anna Hazare has slammed Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, after the Shunglu Panel highlighted what it called ‘gross abuse of power’ during the AAP’s two years of governance in Delhi.
Hazare said, “He was my colleague in the fight against corruption… At that time, I felt the educated, new generation could help rid the country of graft. But it was a big dream — and my dream lies shattered.”
Hazare, according to IANS, thanked God for keeping him away from the Aam Aadmi Party when Kejriwal decided to enter politics.
He said, “Since then, and even after he became the chief minister, I never felt a desire to meet him. Now, I understand why he always used to address me as his ‘Guru’. The Lord has saved me.”
The Shunglu Panel had made shocking indictment of Delhi’s AAP-led government by highlighting what it termed a ‘gross abuse of power’ since the Arvind Kejriwal became the chief minister in February 2015.
In order to ensure the Lt Governor does not have “prior” information about its Cabinet agenda, the Delhi government took over 150 decisions by circumventing “fundamental provisions” of rules, the Shunglu panel said
The panel said that there were significant number of files where the Cabinet note was prepared in ministers’ personal section and signed by the minister concerned without the matter being taken up for consultation or circulation.
According to report, as per the Transaction of Business (TBR) rules, any cabinet agenda must be circulated at least two days before its meeting and in exceptional circumstances, with the approval of Chief Minister, this period can be curtailed.
The panel, formed by ex-Lt Governor Najeeb Jung to examine whether various decisions of the AAP government were in compliance of the rules, said from February 2015 to September 2016, over 300 decisions were taken by the Council of ministers. Of these, more than half were “tabled” items.
“The Committee has been at a loss to understand the term tabled item. In practice, it has meant that the Council has taken up items and the decision to take them up is taken possibly at the commencement of the Council meeting.
“This is not only against Rule 13 (3) of Transaction of Business Rules, but also ensured that the Lt Governor had no prior notice of the agenda of the Council meeting,” the report said.
The decision not to circulate and to “table” the item seems to have been “whimsical” in most of the cases, it added.