Page 63 - Arvind Kejriwal

'Lord Krishna spoke through CJI': Kejriwal on SC's Chandigarh poll order

'The way the Supreme Court has given its verdict, it seems God was speaking through the Chief Justice of India,' Arvind Kejriwal said on Supreme Court's Chandigarh poll order

Delhi CM slams BJP over SC setting aside Chandigarh mayoral poll result

Speaking in the Delhi Assembly on Wednesday, Chief Minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal slammed the BJP over the Supreme Court overturning the outcome of the Chandigarh mayoral poll. Quoting from the Bhagavad Gita, Kejriwal said the god decided to intervene and put an end to the prevailing "adharm (unrighteousness)" of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He also thanked the Supreme Court and the chief justice of India for the court's verdict on the Chandigarh mayoral poll, saying it saved the country's democracy. "It seemed as though god were speaking through the CJI," Kejriwal said, hailing the Supreme Court that declared defeated AAP-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar as the new mayor of the Union Territory by setting aside the January 30 poll result. Slamming the BJP, Kejriwal alleged that the saffron party would do anything to win elections and accused it of indulging in poaching MLAs and toppling governments openly. He said all the devotees of Lord Ram, Krishna, ...

AAP protests delay of one-time settlement scheme; House adjourned for day

AAP MLAs trooped into the well of the Delhi Assembly and protested against the stalling of the one-time settlement scheme for rectifying water bills, leading the speaker to adjourn the House for the day. After the special mention of issues related to constituencies of MLAs under Rule 280, the AAP members trooped into the well of the House and raised slogans against the BJP, accusing it of putting pressure on officers to stall the scheme. They demanded that the Lt Governor suspend the officers responsible for obstructing the scheme. Speaker Ram Niwas Goel tried to pacify the AAP members and asked them to take their seats but, as the protesting MLAs refused to budge, he adjourned the House for half an hour. When the House reconvened, the AAP MLAs again trooped into the well and raised slogans. Goel again requested the MLAs to go back to their seats but they continued to raise slogans. Finally, the speaker adjourned the House till 11 am on Wednesday. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal,

Order inquiry into GST evasion in Delhi: LG Saxena advises CM Kejriwal

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Monday wrote a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal "advising" him to ask the finance minister to conduct a detailed inquiry into alleged Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion in the city. In a statement, the Delhi government condemned instances of tax evasion and said that despite its efforts to develop a software to address the problem, a proposal to this effect has been "languishing among bureaucratic offices for almost a year". In his letter to Kejriwal, Saxena said Delhi has achieved the "inglorious distinction" of recording the highest tax evasion in the country. In all, 483 "bogus firms" were detected which evaded Rs 3,028 crore of tax, he said. "It is indeed dubious that the capital of the country tops the list of tax evasion amongst all states and union territories, with the one on the second place behind Delhi by as much as Rs 827 crore. This is a serious matter in which the possibility of collusion of officials in the GST ...

Delhi CM clears signing of MoU on first 3 metro corridors under Phase-4

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approved signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Delhi government, the Centre and the DMRC on the first three corridors being built under Phase-IV of the metro, an official statement issued on Monday said. At present, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is carrying out construction work on a 65.2-km stretch of three priority corridors spanning 45 stations as part of this project. These three corridors are Janakpuri West-RK Ashram Marg (28.92 km), Majlis Park-Maujpur (12.55 km), both of which are extensions of the Delhi Metro's Magenta Line and Pink Line, and Aerocity-Tughlakabad (23.62 km) which is being built as Golden Line to connect the Violet Line and the Airport Line from their respective ends. With this, the work on these three corridors will "pick pace", the statement issued by the Delhi government said. "Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approved the signing of an MoU between the Delhi government, the Centre and the

Grave constitutional crisis has arisen in Delhi, says Kejriwal in Assembly

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said a "serious constitutional crisis" has arisen in the national capital as officers are saying they will not work because of alleged "threats and pressure" from the BJP. This problem stems from Delhi not enjoying full statehood and the real power lies with the central government, which is led by a different party, and "that other party does not want that the elected government (of Delhi) does its work", he said during his address in the Delhi Assembly. Kejriwal also said the one-time settlement scheme to rectify water bills is being "obstructed" by some officers. The chief minister alleged that the officers are being threatened to block the one-time settlement scheme for correcting water bills because of pressure from the BJP. There was no immediate reaction from the BJP. Kejriwal also claimed the officers' unwillingness to work has led to a "serious constitutional crisis" in Delhi. He appealed to Lt Governor VK Saxena to call the

Chandigarh mayor's resignation shows BJP won by 'unfair means': Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that BJP leader Manoj Sonkar's resignation as Chandigarh mayor shows that they won the elections by using "unfair means". Addressing the media outside the Delhi Assembly, Kejriwal said, "If the mayor has resigned then it is very obvious that something is suspicious there. It clearly shows that they won the elections by unfair means." "This is how they win other elections too; if they don't, they buy leaders from the winning party. How will a democratic country function if elections are won unfairly? They (BJP) should let the party that won the elections run the government," Kejriwal alleged. Sonkar resigned as Chandigarh mayor and three AAP councillors -- Neha, Poonam and Gurcharan Kala -- joined the BJP on Sunday. Hitting back at AAP, BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde said that the councillors joined the BJP on their "own will" and alleged that AAP made false promises to those leaders. "AAP councilors joined the BJP on their own

Serious constitutional crisis has arisen in Delhi, says CM Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said a "serious constitutional crisis" has arisen in the national capital as officers are saying they will not work because of alleged "threats and pressure" from the BJP. This problem stems from Delhi not enjoying full statehood and the real power lies with the central government, which is led by a different party, and "that other party does not want that the elected government (of Delhi) does its work", he said during his address in the Delhi Assembly. Kejriwal also said the one-time settlement scheme to rectify water bills is being "obstructed" by some officers. The chief minister alleged that the officers are being threatened to block the one-time settlement scheme for correcting water bills because of pressure from the BJP. There was no immediate reaction from the BJP. Kejriwal also claimed the officers' unwillingness to work has led to a "serious constitutional crisis" in Delhi. He appealed to Lt Governor VK Saxena to call the

Delhi excise policy: ED may issue summons to CM Kejriwal for 7th time

The Enforcement Directorate is expected to issue fresh summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for questioning in the excise policy case, official sources said. The ED sources claimed that a local court recently held Kejriwal guilty of "disobeying" the earlier notices issued to him, warranting the seventh summons. Kejriwal, 55, refused to depose before the federal agency for the sixth time on Monday with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) saying the ED should wait for the court's decision instead of repeatedly sending summonses to the CM, also the party's national convenor. A Delhi court on February 17 had granted exemption to Kejriwal from personal appearance for the day in connection with the complaint filed by the central agency for disobeying its summons in the excise policy-linked money laundering case. The court posted the matter for March 16 and Kejriwal's counsel assured the court of his physical appearance that day. ED sources said the agency had filed a complaint before

ED claims court accepted offence by Arvind Kejriwal for refusing summons

The complaint was filed against Kejriwal for intentionally disobeying the first three summons issued to him, sources said

Delhi excise policy case: CM Kejriwal skips ED summons for sixth time

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will not appear before the Enforcement Directorate on Monday for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy, the AAP said. Terming the agency's sixth summons to its national convener as "illegal", the party said that the ED should wait for the court's decision instead of repeatedly sending summonses to Kejriwal. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had approached a city court after Kejriwal skipped multiple summonses. On Saturday, the court had granted exemption to Kejriwal from personal appearance for the day in connection with the complaint filed by the central agency. The application moved by Kejriwal's counsel stated that the Budget Session of the Delhi assembly has commenced on February 15 and shall continue till the first week of March. He will physically appear before the court on the next date of hearing on March 16, it said.

Shivraj, Raje may form own parties if ED stopped, says Delhi CM Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Sunday claimed that if the ED was stopped and section 45 of the PMLA abolished, no one would cross over to the BJP and its leaders like Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Vasundhara Raje may form their own political outfits. Chouhan and Raje were overlooked by the BJP for the chief minister posts in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan respectively despite ensuring the party's return to power in the assembly polls held recently. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge by his side, Kejriwal responded to a question on opposition leaders joining the BJP, saying, "Today, if the ED (Enforcement Directorate) is stopped and section 45 of the PMLA (The Prevention of Money-Laundering Act) is abolished, half of the BJP leaders will quit the party." "There is only one agency (ED) which is responsible for leaders joining the BJP. No one will join the BJP if PMLA section 45 is removed. Leaders like Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Vasundhara Raje may form their own parties by the ...

Evading ED summons: Court exempts Kejriwal from personal appearance on Sat

A Delhi court on Saturday granted exemption to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from personal appearance for the day in connection with a complaint filed by the ED against him over non-compliance with its summonses in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra granted relief to Kejriwal after the AAP convener appeared before the court via video conferencing and urged for exemption from physical appearance for the day. The application moved by Kejriwal's counsel stated that the Budget Session of the Delhi Legislative Assembly has commenced on February 15 and shall continue till the first week of March, 2024. "The accused being the Chief Minister of GNCT of Delhi/Leader of the House of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, has to take an active part in the Assembly Session. As such, it is requested that his personal appearance be exempted for today so as to enable him in discharge of his official duties and that th

AAP being attacked as it is BJP's biggest challenger, says Delhi CM

The AAP is the biggest challenger to the BJP and that is why it is under attack from all sides, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday during a discussion on the motion of confidence he moved in the Budget session of the assembly. Speaking on the motion of confidence, Kejriwal asserted that even if the BJP wins this year's Lok Sabha polls, the AAP will "liberate" the country from the saffron party in the 2029 elections. The Delhi chief minister, who is also the AAP convenor, said his government has a majority in the House but it needed to bring the motion of confidence because the BJP was trying to poach party MLAs and topple his government. The House later passed the motion of confidence through a voice vote, with 54 of the AAP's 62 MLAs present during the voting. Kejriwal also asserted that no AAP MLA had defected. Two MLAs are in jail, some are unwell and some others are out of station, he said. He said several MLAs explained how they were contacted and offered m

Motion of confidence: Delhi Assembly initiates discussion moved by CM

The Delhi Assembly on Saturday initiated a discussion on the motion of confidence brought by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who alleged that the BJP tried to poach AAP MLAs to topple his government. Starting the discussion, the AAP's Kasturba Nagar MLA Madan Lal alleged that the BJP was persistently trying to "fail" and "paralyse" the Kejriwal government -- either by poaching party MLAs or interfering in its workings. Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, the lone opposition representative in the House following the suspension of BJP members for the session, was not present when the discussion began. This is the third motion of confidence of the Kejriwal government in the last three years. It comes amid the AAP's claims that the BJP wanted to break the party by offering money to its MLAs and toppling its government in Delhi. The previous confidence motions came in August 2022 and March 2023, amid AAP allegations that the BJP was carrying out "Operation Lotus" to poach its ..

Delhi court exempts CM Kejriwal from personal appearance in excise case

A Delhi court on Saturday granted exemption to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from personal appearance for the day in connection with a complaint filed by the ED against him over non-compliance with its summonses in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra granted relief to Kejriwal after the AAP leader appeared before the court via videoconferencing and urged for exemption from physical appearance for the day. Kejriwal told the court that he was unable to appear before it due to the ongoing Budget session of the Delhi Assembly. Appearing for Kejriwal, senior advocate Ramesh Gupta told the court that the Delhi chief minister will appear before it in person on the next date of hearing. The court has adjourned the matter to March 16. In its complaint, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged that the Delhi chief minister intentionally did not want to obey the summonses and kept on giving "lame excus

CM Arvind Kejriwal moves a motion of confidence in Delhi Assembly

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he will seek vote of confidence in the Assembly on Friday. The announcement came days after he alleged that the BJP tried to poach AAP MLAs and topple his government. "I will bring the vote of confidence in Delhi Assembly today," Kejriwal said in a post on X in Hindi. However, he did not specify the reason behind the move.

MCD develops 1.75 acre green cover in Wazirpur area to curb pollution

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has developed a 1.75 acre green cover in northwest Delhi's Wazirpur locality, a heavily industrialised region and among the top pollution hotspots in the capital, to mitigate the impact of the local sources of air pollution in the area. The civic body planted a total of 16,000 saplings of indigenous varieties on a vacant land that had turned into a garbage dumping point to develop a mini forest in the region using the Miyawaki technique, an official aware of the development told PTI. "The Horticulture department of the MCD in collaboration with an NGO converted the vacant land used for garbage dumping to create a mini forest in the area that will help in improving the air quality levels in the region. We have utilised 1 acre of land for plantation and the rest of the land is used to develop pedestal crossing, install swings, and benches," he said. Wazirpur is among the 13 identified pollution hotspots in the national capital that contribute to the

7 BJP MLAs suspended from Delhi Assembly's Budget session for disruptions

Seven BJP MLAs were on Friday suspended for the remainder of the Budget session of the Delhi Assembly for interrupting the Lt Governor's address. The BJP MLAs had interrupted Lt Governor VK Saxena multiple times during his address on Thursday as they sought to attack the Arvind Kejriwal government. Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel had also sent the matter of disruption to the Privileges Committee. AAP MLA Dilip Pandey moved a resolution in the House seeking action on this issue, which was accepted by the Speaker. Pandey said that opposition members on Thursday acted in an "planned manner" while disrupting the LG's address which lowered the prestige of the House. "It was unprecedented and unfortunate," he said. While reading out from the rule book, he said the behaviour of the opposition members has lowered the dignity of the House, and demanded action. Speaker Goel while accepting the resolution of Pandey, said the matter be sent to the Privileges Committee. Seven members

PM Modi's degree row: HC rejects pleas by Kejriwal, Singh to quash summons

The Gujarat High Court on Friday dismissed pleas by Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh to quash the summons issued against them in a criminal defamation case over their comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's educational qualification. Through their pleas, Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal and AAP's Rajya Sabha member Singh had challenged the summons by a trial court in the case filed by Gujarat University and the subsequent order of the sessions court dismissing their revision applications against the summons. Rejecting their applications, Justice Hasmukh Suthar directed the two AAP leaders to make their submissions before the trial court. Seeking the quashing of the summons, the two leaders had said that Gujarat University (GU) cannot file a defamation case before a magistrate court and rather should move the sessions court. The metropolitan court had summoned Kejriwal and Singh on April 15 last year in the defamation case filed by GU over their sarcastic and