BJP boycotts all-party meet on water scheme

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 22

The BJP boycotted the all-party meeting called by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the one-time settlement scheme for inaccurate water bills on Thursday.

Diverting attention

For the past two years, Kejriwal has faced accusations of multi-directional corruption scandals. Now, with the LS poll looming, he’s sidestepping scrutiny by diverting attention to water bill scheme. — Virendra Sachdeva, Delhi BJP Chief

President of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee Arvinder Singh Lovely and former Delhi minister Haroon Yusuf attended the meeting. From the BJP, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri was invited to the meeting.

“During this, the CM said the absence of the BJP in the meeting indicates their opposition to the scheme,” officials said.

“We should expose the BJP in front of the people of Delhi because they are engaging in very dirty politics. If the BJP has any suggestions, we will consider them,” the CM said.

The AAP protested against the non-implementation of the scheme by the bureaucracy.

After the meeting, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Lovely jointly addressed the media. Bharadwaj said, “The BJP is making several efforts through its officers to stop the ‘One-Time Settlement’ scheme.”

“We have also discussed this scheme with the L-G and raised the matter in the Delhi Legislative Assembly. A resolution has also been passed in the Assembly. Despite this, the ‘One-Time Settlement’ scheme has not yet come to the Cabinet. Because this is a significant issue related to the people of Delhi, a decision was taken a few days ago to hold an all-party meeting so that major political parties could discuss and deliberate on this public interest issue beyond their party lines,” said the Delhi Cabinet Minister.

Meanwhile, Lovely said, “We have submitted our suggestions to the Delhi government and the Chief Minister along with proposals. Certainly, whatever steps are taken to provide relief to the people of Delhi, the Congress will support them.” “We have stated before that regardless of the government’s political affiliation, whether it is BJP, Congress, or Aam Aadmi Party, we do not agree at all with the idea of weakening any institution,” he said.

Meanwhile, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri accused Kejriwal of engaging in political diversion tactics under the guise of settling water bills. At a press conference, they alleged that the recent focus on water bill settlement aimed to deflect attention from corruption scandals plaguing Kejriwal’s government.

Sachdeva criticised Kejriwal’s call for an all-party meeting, labelling it as a deceptive propaganda event. Sachdeva said, “The water bill settlement issue is a direct consequence of problems stemming from the installation of air-flow water meters by the Kejriwal government.”

Challenging Kejriwal to address the alleged scams within the Delhi Jal Board over the past nine years, Sachdeva asserted, “We will participate in an all-party meeting to discuss scandals ranging from bungalow construction to liquor, substandard medicines and Covid-era discrepancies.”

Meanwhile, Bidhuri criticised the lack of transparency regarding the Jal Board’s financial losses, citing a shift from a profit of Rs 600 crore to a staggering loss of Rs 7,200 crore. He called for action against Jal Board officials and urged the removal of Chairman Atishi and Deputy Chairman Somnath Bharti.

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