Centre's 'Nod' for Delhi Govt Budget After Rejecting It: All That Happened

Calling it a black day for democracy, Kejriwal attacked the Centre in the ongoing assembly session on Tuesday.

File photo of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. 

(Photo: Video screengrab)

A day after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed that the Centre had 'blocked' the budget of the Delhi Assembly slated to be tabled on Tuesday, the Centre reportedly gave a nod to the second draft sent by the cabinet.

Calling it a black day for Indian democracy, Kejriwal attacked LG VK Saxena and the Centre in the ongoing assembly session, saying that the Centre "conspired" to halt the budget.

"It has never happened in the history of India that an elected government was not allowed to present the Budget in the assembly. The beauty of democracy is that everybody is answerable," he said.

Political slugfest ensued between the Centre and the Delhi government ensued on Tuesday. Several reports citing sources said that Saxena objected to the amount of money allocated for government advertising, following which the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) expressed "concerns" and refused to give it approval.

Why Was the Budget Blocked?

Delhi finance minister, in a statement Kailash Gahlot issued a statement to say that nearly Rs 22,000 crores have been allocated for capital expenditure next year, whereas the allocation for advertisements is only Rs 550 crore, which is similar to that of last year.

"The budget was sent for MHA's approval as per regular practice well in advance on 10 March 2023. It is now learned that the MHA expressed some concerns on Delhi government's budget and refused to give it approval through a letter sent to the Chief Secretary on 17 March 2023. For mysterious reasons, the Chief Secretary of Delhi kept the letter hidden for 3 days. I learned about the letter only at 2pm today i.e. 20 March 2023."

Claiming that the ministry responded to MHA'S concerns and submitted the file back to Delhi's LG after CM's approval at 9pm on Monday, Gahlot said that: "The role of the Chief Secretary and Finance Secretary of Delhi in delaying Delhi's budget ought to be investigated. It is also unfortunate that MHA is spreading falsehoods about Delhi government's budget," he said.

Gahlot also reiterated the timeline in a media briefing held on Tuesday.

What Did the MHA Say?

The MHA, however, made no mention of the Budget being blocked due to expenditure on advertisements.

In a statement, the MHA said: "The Lieutenant Governor, Delhi, had raised certain concerns of administrative nature on the proposed Budget, keeping in view the fiscal interest of the National Capital Territory on which MHA vide its letter dated 17.03.2023 has requested GNCTD to resubmit the Budget addressing these concerns for taking further action”, the home ministry said, adding that the reply from the Delhi government is awaited for the last four days."

The Ad Expenditure of AAP Govt Budget Through the Years

According to an RTI filed by Kanhaiya Kumar from Bihar's Vaishali last year shows sharp rise in the Delhi government's expenditure on advertisements through print, electronic, and digital media.

The government’s spending on "advertisement and publicity" and "other charges" rose from Rs 11.18 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 488.97 crores by 2021-22, an increase of nearly 43 times in 10 years.

Here's how the Kejriwal government's expenditure on advertisement has risen since in 2015:

The rise in the budget allocation, however, has risen 84.2%.

AAP Cashes Political Points

While the Budget was briefly blocked, the AAP politicised the issue with several party leaders and ministers alleging attempts to destabilise the Delhi government.

As he tabled the budget on Tuesday, Kejriwal said that the Centre 'stopping' the Delhi Budget is an attack on India's Constitution.

Training guns at LG VK Saxena, Kejriwal said that he was "bound by aid and advice of council of ministers."

Earlier on Tuesday, Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to say: "Why are you upset with Delhiites? Please don't stall Delhi's budget. With folded hands, Delhiites urge you to pass their budget."

AAP MP Raghav Chadha said: "If the budget is not passed then where will the salary of teachers and doctors go from? How will flyovers, schools-hospitals be built? The Center is taking revenge of its defeat from the people of Delhi."

AAP spokesperson and MLA Sourabh Bhardwaj, meanwhile, accused the LG's office of leaking confidential information about the budget to the media.

"The budget of any state is a secret document. Before putting it on the table of the House, even the smallest details do not leak. It is unconstitutional that the 'babu' of the center will tell the elected government of Delhi what the budget should be. It is illegal and unconstitutional," Bhardwaj said in a media briefing on Tuesday.