Shunglu Committee finds ‘gross abuse of power’ by Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi
Health Minister Satyendra Jain, whose daughter’s appointment to a Mohalla Clinic was questioned by the panel, called the report mere ‘mud-slinging’.
The Shunglu Committee set up by former Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has accused the Arvind Kejriwal government of “gross abuse of power” in its report submitted on Wednesday. The panel found irregularities in the allotment of land for party offices and several appointments, including that of Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain’s daughter, reported PTI.
The panel said Kejriwal had passed an order in April 2015 asking officers to make decisions without consulting the the lieutenant governor. “In pursuance of the directions of the CM in April 2015, it became the practice among ministers to not obtain the approval of the LG and to provide approval at their level,” the report said.
The three-member panel had reviewed 404 files of the Delhi government. It has questioned foreign travels by ministers without the LG’s sanction. The report has also flagged posting of officers to the Anti-Corruption Branch. Jung had said that Kejriwal might face criminal charges on the basis of the panel’s report.
Reactions to the report
While the report has drawn massive criticism for the AAP from the Congress, Kejriwal’s party, however, has dismissed the report as “mud-slinging”. The Delhi health minister, whose daughter Soumya Jain’s appointment as a mission director at a Mohalla Clinic was also questioned, said the Kejriwal government had committed “no irregularity” and that officers were forced to write “false notes” in the report by Jung “under duress”.
“I have not seen the report, but as far as we are concerned, there is no illegality or irregularity...Our government has worked as per the Constitution in force till August 4, 2016. After that, the high court made some amendment to it,” Jain said, adding that the Centre had approved his daughter’s appointment.
Delhi Congress President Ajay Maken has asked for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation. “If Arvind Kejriwal has any conscience left then he should immediately resign from the Chief Minister’s post,” Maken said.
Maken said he had got the report through an RTI, and accused the state government of corruption, nepotism and misuse of public money for “unsanctioned” foreign tours of AAP leaders, PTI reported. He has demanded an inquiry into the Shunglu report findings.