LG Baijal not present in NITI Aayog meeting: Amitabh Kant

Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant rubbished Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's claim of Lieutenant General Anil Baijal attending fourth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog on his behest.

Taking to his Twitter handle, Kant clarified that LG Baijal is not present in the ongoing meeting to represent the National Capital Territory.

"This is totally incorrect. Lt. Governor of Delhi is not present at the Fourth Meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog," Kant Tweeted.

The NITI Aayog CEO's clarification came after the Delhi Chief Minister took to his Twitter handle and questioned LG Baijal's attendance in the meeting.

"Under which provision of the Constitution does LG have powers to replace the Chief Minister? I have not authorised him to go in my place," Kejriwal Tweeted.

Kejriwal did not attend the NITI Aayog meeting as he is on sit-in strike at Raj Niwas, the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor, since June 11 demanding a direction to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers working under the Delhi administration to end their 'undeclared strike', among other demands.

The Delhi chief minister claimed that the IAS officers working for Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) were "only working on important files" and "not responding to Ministers' calls and messages, and not attending meetings".

Therefore, Kejriwal asked Baijal to direct the IAS officers to end their strike and take action against officers who have allegedly struck work for four months.

Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Karnataka also arrived at Lieutenant Governor Baijal's office on Saturday to meet and extend support to the Delhi Chief Minister on the issue.

The four chief ministers in a joint press conference outside Baijal's office sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to end the ongoing fight between the Delhi Lt. Governor and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.