Govt may table CAG report as Delhi assembly session begins today

Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs are likely to corner the Delhi government on issues related to pollution and alleged corruption

The winter session of the Delhi assembly is scheduled to begin on Friday, with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) likely to table a key audit report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India and raise several issues related to governance, including the alleged lack of cooperation from officers in the Delhi government, people aware of the matter said.

A session of the Delhi assembly underway in August. The winter session will begin at 11am, and all legislators have been issued notices to attend, said officials. (HT Archive)

Meanwhile, the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs are likely to corner the Delhi government on issues related to pollution and alleged corruption.

The 70-member house has 62 AAP legislators, and the remaining eight members are from the BJP.

The two-day assembly session will also convene on December 18, and the session may be extended if the House decides, assembly officials said.

“The assembly will begin with obituary references on Friday, following which Question Hour will start, where starred questions will be asked and replies will be given. The replies of unstarred questions will be laid on the table. The special mention will start after that, under which the MLAs will raise important issues related to their constituencies in the House,” an official said, explaining the procedure.

A list of business prepared by the assembly secretariat said that, during the session, finance minister Atishi will introduce The Delhi Goods & Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023, and lay copies of the CAG audit report on the annual accounts for the financial year 2020-21.

AAP chief whip in the House and MLA from Timarpur, Dilip Kumar Pandey, said, “AAP MLAs have been asked to be present in the house on time and participate in the discussions.”

Meanwhile, leader of the Opposition in the assembly, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri alleged that the AAP government had kept a a short winter session to prevent discussions on the problems of the people.

Bidhuri said his party leaders held a brainstorming session on the issues that they will raise in the House.

AAP MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi is also likely to ask a question regarding the work done by the irrigation and flood control department over the last year, officials said.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva and Bidhuri had recently claimed corruption in the department — an allegation that the AAP denied as baseless, with minister Saurabh Bharadwaj noting that the department secretary has the authority to clear projects with a cost of up to ₹50 crore.