Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has invited Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his Ministers and 10 AAP MLAs for a meeting with him at the Raj Niwas on Friday evening, amid the ongoing tussle between the elected government and the LG office but the Chief Minister requested for the meeting to be rescheduled as he will be in Punjab on the given date and time.
Earlier, Raj Niwas has asked the Chief Minister to come to the meeting alongwith his Cabinet colleagues and any 10 MLAs of his AAP at 4 pm on Thursday. In a statement, Kejriwal thanked the LG for his invitation but said, “I am going to Punjab tomorrow. We are requesting Hon’ble LG for some other time.” According to government officials, Kejriwal will inaugurate 400 Mohalla Clinics in Punjab on Friday.
The LG’s invitation assumes significance as his office and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) dispensation have been at loggerheads over multiple issues, a Delhi Government proposal to send its teachers for training in Finland being the latest bone of contention.
The LG and the Chief Minister have their weekly meetings on Friday. The scheduled meetings were disrupted with tensions rising between the LG office and the AAP dispensation. On January 16, Kejriwal and his party MLAs had marched from the Vidhan Sabha to Raj Niwas to meet Saxena over the teachers’ training proposal.
The Chief Minister returned after waiting for nearly an hour, claiming the Lt Governor refused to meet him, his deputy Manish Sisodia and AAP MLAs.
Saxena denied the charge in a letter he wrote to Kejriwal days later, saying the Chief Minister insisted for a meeting which would be attended by all his MLAs, and that it was not possible at a short notice.
Kejriwal, replying to the LG letter, had suggested a fresh proposal for a meeting between the two sides. However, AAP leaders had later claimed that Saxena refused to meet the Chief Minister and AAP MLAs. A scene of bonhomie was, however, witnessed as Kejriwal attended the ‘at home’ function ahead of Republic Day hosted by the Lt Governor at Raj Niwas on Tuesday.
The two were seen warmly greeting each another during the function that was also attended by politicians from BJP and other parties.
The relations between the two sides have worsened in recent weeks with the AAP dispensation hitting out at the LG over his decisions to nominate the presiding officer and aldermen to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi House, Haj Committee members and the row over the proposal to send Delhi government teachers to Finland for training.