Former Delhi Minister Raaj Kumar Anand wrote to the Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, accusing the Arvind Kejriwal Government for “running a fraud in the name of the poor of Delhi” while calling the AAP Government of “anti-Dalit, anti-Ambedkar character”. Anand on Thursday met Saxena at raj Niwas and handed over a memorandum, seeking more benefits and facilities for upliftment of dalit people.
Anand, who has served as the Minister in-charge for Labour, Social Welfare and SC/ST/OBC before resigning, launched a scathing attack on the AAP government and said that having served as the Minister in-charge for Labour, Social Welfare and SC/ST/OBC, I resigned recently in wake of the prevalent excessive corruption in the GNCTD and consequent arrest of Kejriwal,” adding that he is uncertain about his resignation being accepted or not due to the Chief Minister being in jail.
He accused the government of running “in the name of the poor of Delhi and the incessant lies that were peddled in the Media to cover the wrong-doings”. Anand claimed that the Kejriwal government is flouting reservation norms for the scheduled caste, scheduled tribes and other backward classes. “For the past many years, the GNCTD has been deliberately flouting constitutional norms for reservation of seats in Government employment for SC/ST/OBC candidates. Deliberately ad hoc, contractual and temporary appointments are made against permanent vacancies in Government so as to circumvent the compulsory reservation rules,” he alleged, adding that despite thousands of appointments were made as consultants, experts and fellows, no reservation criteria of the backward classes was followed.
“Despite repeated requests to the Chief Minister for sending Dalit pilgrims to Bodhgaya and other places of Buddhist worship like Baba Saheb’s Bhim Janmabhoomi and Chaitya Bhoomi, no action has been taken till now even as hundreds of trains have carried devotees to other pilgrimage sites,” he claimed, adding that this reflects “the true anti-Dalit, anti-Ambedkar character of Arvind Kejriwal Government”.
He requested Saxena to expedite this as this Buddhist pilgrimage train will facilitate religious tourism and cultural exchange. He also proposed the provision of professional courses, exam preparations, and financial assistance up to the 12th standard for the children of contractual labourers through the Labour Welfare Board. “The formation of the Labour Welfare Board is pending and must be expedited to address the welfare needs of labourers effectively,” he said.
Anand said that an investigation into irregularities in the issuance of ration cards and the alleged malpractices post-surrender of old cards is warranted. Further he proposed the appointment of a Dalit woman as the Chairperson of Mahila Aayog to ensure inclusive representation and address the concerns of marginalised women effectively.
Further he said an amount of Rs 4271.37 crore, collected as Cess, is lying in the Construction Workers Labour Welfare Fund, only Rs. 8.72 Cr. have been utilised as Welfare Expenditure. “While no efforts were made by the Department for the welfare of the most marginalised real labour, the Delhi Government spent Rs. 458.08 Cr. during FY 2021-22 on ghost beneficiaries, in return of kickbacks. Once this scam came into public, the expenditure reduced to negligible levels,” he asserted.
In his letter, he said that money from the SC welfare fund has remained unspent and has even been diverted for other activities and urged for a thorough investigation in the matter. He also claimed that due to the cessation of loans and other facilities for SC and labour classes, coupled with the mismanagement of funds within Delhi SC/ST/OBC/Min. & Handicapped Finance & Development Corporation Limited has led to a dire financial crisis and the suicides of two employees.
