Ahead of the three-day session of the Eighth Delhi Legislative Assembly beginning on Monday, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced on Sunday that all 14 pending Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports would be tabled in the House. Gupta accused the previous AAP government of leaving an “empty public exchequer” before the BJP took over and assured that the Rs 2,500 monthly payment scheme for women would be implemented with detailed planning. Gupta attended a meeting along with other BJP MLAs at the state party office ahead of the first session of the newly constituted 8th Delhi Assembly scheduled on Monday.
Addressing her first press conference after the BJP legislature party meeting alongwith Delhi state president Virendra Sachdeva, the newly appointed chief minister said, “ the most important thing is going to come. The government will put the 14 pending CAG reports on the House table in the first session.
“The most important thing is putting the pending CAG report on the House table in the first session. The last government, which misused the hard-earned money of the people of Delhi, will have to account for every penny spent”.
The pending audit reports will be tabled on the second day of the Assembly session on February 25 after Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s address to the House, said a bulletin issued by the House secretariat. The pending CAG reports are Performance Audit on Liquor Supply in Delhi, State Finances Audit Report for the year ended March 2021, Revenue, Economic, Social and General Sectors and PSUs for the years ended 31 March 2020 and 2021, Performance Audit of Prevention and Mitigation of Vehicular Air Pollution in Delhi for the year ended 31 March 2021, Performance Audit of Children in Need of Care and Protection for the year ended 31 March 2021,State Finances Audit Report for the year ended March 2022, State Finances Audit Report for the year ended March 2023, Performance Audit on Public Health Infrastructure and Management of Health services, Performance Audit Report of CAG on Functioning of Delhi Transport Corporation,Performance Audit Report of CAG for the year 31 March 2022,State Finances Audit Report CAG for the year 31 March 2023 and Revenue, Economic, Social and General Sectors & PSUs and Performance Audit of the Department of H&FW and Compliance Audit report 2022.
The BJP has long demanded the tabling of the CAG reports, a stance they upheld during their time in opposition. Last year, the BJP even moved the Delhi High Court, seeking an order directing the then-Atishi government to present the reports.
At the press conference, Gupta highlighted the poor financial health of the Delhi government, saying several phases of meetings have been held with the officers over the implementation of the Mahila Samriddhi Yojna under which Rs 2,500 per month is to be paid to the eligible women in Delhi.
“The condition which the (previous) government has left for us... When we sat with officers to review the financial status of the current government, we found that the government exchequer empty,” she said on a question about the preparation to implement the scheme.
Gupta said that the people of Delhi have seen what they (AAP) are doing, what is their working style? What is their vision in the last 12 years? She said that the BJP government’s focus is on the people of Delhi. About the Delhi Assembly session, she said, “All 70 MLAs will take oath in the first session and both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker will be elected. The pro tem speaker will be sworn in the morning by the Lieutenant Governor and this is a three-day session which we have started.” Gupta added that the three-day assembly session will focus on discussions about development projects, with no room for negativity.
The party also announced the names of Vijender Gupta, a three-time-MLA from Rohini, and Mohan Sigh Bisht, a six-time MLA from Karawal Nagar and Mustafabad, as Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
Gupta, however, assured that the scheme will surely be implemented with detailed planning.
State BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the BJP government’s only agenda was ensuring a developed Delhi and solving the problems of the people.
Media head SPraveen Shankar Kapoor and media co-incharge Vikram Mittal were also present at the press conference.
