Delhi Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) VK Saxena on Monday took strong exception to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s absence at Raj Ghat and Vijay Ghat on October 2 and termed it appalling.
Saxena termed the absence of Kejriwal and his Ministers at Raj Ghat and Vijay Ghat, memorials to Gandhiji and Shastriji, on Sunday "unacceptable" and "appalling", saying such events call for "commemoration of much beyond the issuing of symbolic advertisements in newspapers that your Government very promptly did". The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hit back at the L-G, saying Kejriwal could not attend the programmes as he was campaigning in Gujarat for the Assembly polls and also accused Saxena of acting at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In his letter, the L-G wrote, “What makes this absence all the more unacceptable and appalling is the fact that President of India and Vice-President of India were invited for the program after approval from the Chief Minister, and the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister In-charge of General Administration Department (GAD), GNCTD, were in the loop.”
“While Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was perfunctorily present there for a few minutes, he did not deem the occasion fit enough for him to stay the course,” the letter read. The L-G also reiterated that the importance of propriety and bi-partisanship on matters of national sentiments and interests cannot be undermined and hoped that “you would take points raised by me in the right stead and spirit and take necessary measures to avoid such derelictions in future.”
"Moreover, in accepting the invite from the Delhi Government, the President's Secretariat had clearly apprised the Chief Minister through his Additional Secretary, that it was expected of the Chief Minister to be present at the programme and receive the President at Vijay Ghat," the letter read. Saxena said organising the homage function at Vijay Ghat is the responsibility of the city Government and the invitations were issued in the name of the Chief Minister. "This is not only highly improper but prima facie amounts to deliberate breach of protocol indicative of disrespect and insult to the President of India -- the highest constitutional authority of the Republic," the letter said.
The L-G noted that the Chief Minister's presence would have been befitting, but since he was travelling due to a prior political commitment, it "would have been in the gracious fitness of things" for him to have nominated a senior Minister on his behalf to attend the events and accompany the President and Vice-President.
Saxena also flagged the general apathy in the maintenance and basic upkeep of the venue. "Right opposite the Samadhi gate, there was garbage and C&D waste strewn and basic cleanliness compromised. This again, was reflective of utter disrespect of one of our most respected leaders and an insult to his memory," he said.
In a statement, the AAP said Kejriwal has always been attended Gandhi Jayanti and Shastri Jayanti programmes in last several years. "CM was in Gujarat on that day and that’s why he could not attend the programme. It is important to understand the reason for L-G's letter.
CM addressed a very massive rally in tribal area of Gujarat against empty chairs of PM's programme in Ahmedabad just two days ago. PM is livid. This letter has been written by L-G on PM's instructions," the AAP claimed.
In a tweet, Sisodia said, "If BJP had walked the path shown by Gandhi ji and Shastri ji and built schools and did something for the farmers, it would have been better. This letter has been written after the crowd gathered for @ArvindKejriwal ji in Gujarat and there were empty chairs in the PM's rally."