Sachdeva dares Kejri, CM to convene Assembly session, table CAG report

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva criticised AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi for consistently avoiding the release of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report in the Delhi Assembly, despite repeated reprimands from the court.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Sachdeva said the Delhi government’s refusal to table the CAG report in the Assembly demonstrates Kejriwal’s reluctance to be held accountable for the findings.

“Despite the court’s reprimand, the Delhi Government has failed to present the CAG report in the Assembly. This clearly shows Kejriwal’s fear of its contents,” Sachdeva said, accusing the Delhi government of avoiding transparency.

Referring to the newly exposed details of the CAG report regarding the controversial ‘sheesh mahal’ bungalow, Sachdeva said the revelations about the government’s advertising expenditure further underscore the misuse of public funds by Kejriwal’s administration.

“The CAG report on the ‘sheesh mahal’ bungalow was dismissed as fake and irrelevant by MP Sanjay Singh,” Sachdeva stated, addressing Singh’s remarks. “If the report I’ve shared is fake, then what does the real one say?” he said.

Sachdeva challenged the Delhi government leaders to take action. “I challenge Arvind Kejriwal, Atishi and Sanjay Singh to convene an Assembly session, table the CAG report publicly and engage in a debate with the BJP,” he said.

In his address, Sachdeva quoted constitutional financial rules that mandate both Central and state governments to ensure that all expenditures were reasonable and justified. He also referenced Supreme Court guidelines on government advertisements, which state that such advertisements must serve to inform citizens about government schemes, not to promote self-interest or waste public funds.

“Government advertising should never exceed the actual cost of the schemes themselves,” he stressed.

Sachdeva then highlighted the alleged discrepancies in the advertising expenditures for several key government schemes during the financial year 2021-22, particularly during the Covid-19 crisis.

He claimed that the Kejriwal government diverted funds originally allocated for important schemes towards self-promotion, including Business Blasters Scheme, which was allocated Rs 54.08 crore while its promotional expenditure cost Rs 80.02 crore. Similarly, “Desh ke Mentors” was allocated Rs 1.90 crore and its promotional expenditure ended up being Rs 27.90 crore.

The Parali (Stubble) Management Scheme was allocated Rs 77,000 with its promotional expenditure ending up at Rs 27.89 crore, while the Smog Tower was allocated Rs 20 crore but its promotional expenditure was Rs 5.88 crore.

“These revelations raise serious questions over the use of public funds. Delhiites deserve answers from Kejriwal,” said Sachdeva. “We demand that Kejriwal addresses the four key issues raised in the CAG report,” he said.