The Union Home Ministry on Tuesday cleared the city government’s financial document, clearing the way for its introduction in the assembly a day after tense discussions over the Delhi Budget between the AAP administration and the Center. The decision was made shortly after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to continue with the Budget process and inquiring as to whether the Delhi citizens were “upset” with him.
Earlier on Tuesday, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and requested him to “not stop Delhi’s budget”, amid a row between the Center and the AAP dispensation in the national capital over the issue. The presentation of the Delhi government’s budget for 2023–24, which was scheduled for Tuesday, has been put on hold with the Kejriwal dispensation and the central government trading charges over allocations under various headings.
“I must break the news to this House that the Center halted our budget yesterday. On March 10, the MHA received the entire Budget package with papers, according to Delhi FM Kailash Gahlot.
He said he learnt around 2 pm on Monday that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has raised some queries.
“I asked the chief secretary and the finance secretary several times and finally around 6 pm, I saw the file and it was sent to the LG (lieutenant governor), after the chief minister’s approval,” Gahlot said in the assembly. He added that nothing can be more unconstitutional and demanded a probe into the matter.
While raising the issue of the stalling of the Budget, he rued the elected government could not even pass it with Opposition BJP legislators walking out.
Chief Minister Kejriwal in the assembly said, “The budget had to be presented today. The Centre stopped it. We replied to MHA’s query without making any changes to the budget and they have approved it now. They wanted me to bow down. It’s their ego and nothing else.” The issue created an uproar in the assembly with BJP MLA Vijender Gupta giving a notice for breach of privilege over alleged leak of Budget details, with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accusing him of attempting to disrupt House proceedings.
Subsequently, he was suspended from the assembly for a year till the next Budget session, after a motion moved by AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha was passed with majority.
Sources in the LG office accused Kejriwal, his ministers and the AAP of deliberately making false statements with the sole purpose of misleading the people of Delhi and the media, and distracting them from the failures of the AAP government.
“He has been saying that the Centre has blocked a ‘State’s’ Budget. This is patently false. Delhi is a Union Territory and not a State and therefore it is fully a part and parcel of the Government of India. Moreover, the Budget has not been blocked,” said a source at the LG office.
The source explained that the Constitution provides that previous consent and approval of the President of India is required before laying the Budget of Delhi in the legislative assembly and this has been going on for the past 28 years without fail.
