Prove subsidy allegation or face action, Delhi L-G tells AAP

NEW DELHI: Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Monday objected to allegations levelled against him by the AAP dispensation that he wanted to stop the government’s power subsidy, and threatened legal action if adequate proof was not produced.

The L-G asked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to produce evidence which proves that the former wanted power subsidy in the city to be stopped or is conspiring against it with the officers, as AAP has alleged on multiple occasions.

He also threatened to take legal recourse if Kejriwal failed to provide evidence substantiating the claims made by the AAP, read the letter. The city administrator also registered his objection to party leaders “misleading” the public on the issue through giving “defamatory statements” in the media.

“I write to you seeking accountability and responsibility with regard to unsubstantiated and false statements made by you and your colleagues against me. The power minister, health minister and the chief minister himself have been making blatantly false, misleading, accusatory and defamatory statements in the media and elsewhere to the effect that the ‘subsidy given in the power sector is being stopped by the Lt. Governor,” the letter read.

The L-G’s letter comes amid an attack on him by the AAP legislators in the one-day session of the Delhi Assembly on Monday. Saxena stated that “false propaganda” was resorted to by Delhi Power Minister Atishi on April 14 over the Cabinet’s decision on extending power subsidy.

“You are well aware that I have always been committed to power subsidy to the poor and have made the same amply clear in the public domain, as indeed in writing on different files on different occasions,” read the letter. The AAP, however, stated that the Lieutenant Governor was making false allegations against the party.