Delhi LG's message to Arvind Kejriwal after he skips event amid poster row

The Delhi Police comes under the purview of the union home ministry and this is the latest standoff between the AAP and the BJP, ruling at the centre.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Sunday sent out a message to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal who missed a government event amid the Aam Aadmi Party’s allegations against the Delhi Police. The ruling AAP claimed that cops had “forcibly” put up Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pictures at the Delhi government event.

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai claimed that the Delhi police tried to hijack the mega-plantation drive upon the direction of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). (Twitter @AamAadmiParty)

The Delhi Police comes under the purview of the union home ministry and this is the latest standoff between the AAP and the BJP, ruling at the centre.

At the event, Lieutenant Governor Saxena said he expected the chief minister to be present at the event. “I wanted chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to attend this event but due to some reasons, he could not,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

“This is a program where all of us should work together. I expect him to be present in future events to give a message that we want to work together for Delhi's development,” he added.

The comments come days after the LG recommended a CBI probe into the new Delhi liquor policy, prompting the BJP to slam the Kejriwal government. On Friday, as the recommendation was made, Kejriwal claimed that his deputy - Manish Sisodia - could be arrested soon.

Earlier this week, Lieutenant Governor Saxena had refused to grant permission for the Delhi chief minister’s Singapore visit for a summit.

These have been some of the standoffs between the Delhi government and the centre this week. On Sunday, the AAP's Gopal Rai claimed at a presser: "Last night, the Delhi Police reached the venue of the event and took control of the area. They forcibly put up banners carrying pictures of PM Modi... The banners belonging to the AAP government were torn off," Rai said, adding the Delhi Police also warned people to not touch banners carrying pictures of Modi."

Arvind Kejriwal later skipped the event at Asola Wildlife Sanctuary.

(With inputs from ANI)