Delhi LG Saxena sends notice to AAP leaders over ‘malicious, false charges’

The move comes a week after AAP MLA Pathak alleged in the Delhi assembly that Saxena, as chairman of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission, “pressured his employees to exchange demonetised notes worth ₹1,400 crore in 2016 and thus was involved in the scam”

Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena on Monday sent legal notices to Aam Aadmi Party leaders Atishi, Durgesh Pathak, Saurabh Bhardwaj, and Sanjay Singh, and Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi vice chairman Jasmine Shah for “levelling false, derogatory and malicious allegations against him and spreading fake news and a motivated propaganda to malign his image.”

Lt. Governor of Delhi VK Saxena served as the chairman of the KVIC between 2015 and 2022 before being appointed lieutenant governor in May. Since taking over, he has asked the CBI to probe Delhi’s liquor policy and given a nod to the Anti-Corruption Branch to probe alleged irregularities in the construction of seven temporary hospitals by the AAP government. (HT Photo)

The move comes a week after AAP MLA Pathak alleged in the Delhi assembly that Saxena, as chairman of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), “pressured his employees to exchange demonetised notes worth ₹1,400 crore in 2016 and thus was involved in the scam”.

Later, in back-to-back press conferences, Atishi, Bharadwaj and Singh repeated the charges, while Shah spoke on the issue in TV debates. AAP MLAs also protested about the issue inside Delhi assembly and in its premises, and have demanded a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). They have demanded that Saxena should be removed as lieutenant governor till the probe is completed.

Quoting figures from the annual report of KVIC for 2016-17, an official in the lieutenant governor’s office said the purported scam of ₹1,400 crore was a mathematical impossibility and absolutely untruthful. He declined to be named.

“It may be known that the total Khadi sale across the country during 2016-17 was ₹2,146.60 crore as per KVIC Annual Report 2016-17. There were only 7 Departmental Store Outlets (DSOs) of KVIC, sale from which was ₹173.58 crore during the entire year of 2016-17, while the remaining was sale done through independent Khadi Institution stores and franchisees,” the legal notice stated.

“Out of sale of ₹173.58 crore from these 7 DSOs during the year, ₹99.35 crore was through retail sales and the remaining was through wholesale and government supplies. Since the period under demonetisation was from 9.11.2016 to 31.12.2016, therefore on a pro-rata basis, retails sales worth approximately only ₹14.43 crore (actual may vary) took place through these 7 DSOs during the period of demonetisation,” it said.

“Hence, by any stretch of imagination, whatsoever, the figure of ₹1400 crore is not only incompatible with real and unquestionable figures duly recorded in the books of accounts but also an incomprehensible mathematical impossibility even if one were to take into account, the actual sales of the entire year which amounted to just ₹173.58 crore, from 7 DSOs. (All figures are from the KVIC Annual Report 2016-17, available on KVIC’s Website),” the legal notice stated.

The notice also flagged that AAP leaders’ allegations of corruption and money laundering were based on the purported statements made by the accused persons against whom CBI has already filed a charge sheet.

The notice has asked the AAP leaders to publish an unconditional apology in electronic, print and social media, specifying that the allegations were untrue; desist from making any false defamatory statement against Saxena and using any media outlet for circulating them; remove all defamatory content made and circulated by AAP including from twitter handles of the AAP leaders and AAP’s official handles; suspend usage of the hashtags (against Saxena) from all social media platforms; and furnish proof that they have complied with all these requisitions within 48 hours of the receipt of the notice, sent through advocate Bani Dikshit.

“…failing which my client will be constrained to take such further action as he may be advised for the protection, enforcement and preservation of his reputation, goodwill and other legal rights against AAP, the noticees, as well as all persons associated with AAP, jointly and severally,” the notice stated.

The notice also referred that AAP leaders have stooped to launch personal attacks against Saxena’s family members as well, particularly his daughter. AAP leaders recently alleged that he had given the contract of preparing the design of a KVIC lounge in Mumbai to his daughter. Saxena rejected the charges and said she had done the work free of cost and it saved KVIC the designing cost.

An AAP official said, “If he has done no wrong, why is he so scared of CBI raid and investigation? Why does he not offer himself for independent enquiry? He should stop threatening people. He has done so much corruption in KVIC that now he is trying to stop its exposure by threatening people. But he cannot silence our voice. We will keep raising our voice against corruption. We have zero tolerance against corruption.”

Saxena served as the chairman of the KVIC between 2015 and 2022 before being appointed lieutenant governor in May. Since taking over, he has asked the CBI to probe Delhi’s liquor policy and given a nod to the Anti-Corruption Branch to probe alleged irregularities in the construction of seven temporary hospitals by the AAP government.

The Delhi government and the lieutenant governor have traded charges over these and several other issues. The CBI carried out raids against deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in relation to the excise policy, and the AAP hit back, defending Sisodia and claiming there was a plot to arrest him and to destabilise the Delhi government by luring AAP’s MLAs to the Bharatiya Janata Party through bribes and threats. The BJP has denied the charges.

Through the legal notice, Saxena stated that the “scandalous allegations” are aimed at diverting attention from failure of the AAP government flagged by the lieutenant governor since he took charge on May 26.