‘Atishi to hoist national flag on Independence Day', Delhi minister Gopal Rai tells govt department
AAP on August 7 had announced that chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to the Delhi LG that Atishi would hoist the national flag in his place.
Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai said on Monday said that chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has asked education minister Atishi to hoist the national flag on Independence Day.
Rai has also written a letter to the General Administration Department (GAD) saying, “I had a meeting with the chief minister today. He desires that minister Atishi should hoist the flag on 15th August 2024 at the Chhatrasal Stadium event in his place. All the necessary arrangements be made accordingly.”
Every year, the Delhi government's Independence Day function takes place at Chhatrasal Stadium where chief minister Kejriwal addresses the gathering.
Earlier, on August 7, AAP announced that chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has also written to the Delhi LG that Atishi would hoist the national flag in his place.
However, the LG office denied receiving any such communication from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). A Raj Niwas official said, “With regards to the claims in various sections regarding the flag hoisting on August 15, it is clarified that the LG secretariat is not in receipt of any such communication whatsoever.”
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‘Kejriwal should appoint Atishi as CM’
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had also taken a jibe at the jailed chief minister, saying he should resign from his post and make Atishi the Delhi chief minister as according to the rules, only the chief minister is allowed to hoist the tricolour on Independence Day.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the letter written by the incarcerated chief minister to the lieutenant governor regarding the flag hoisting on Independence Day “proves” that the Aam Aadmi Party and its leaders were "anarchists" and would remain "anarchists".
Arvind Kejriwal is currently detained in Tihar Jail in connection with corruption and money laundering charges related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. The Supreme Court had granted Kejriwal interim bail in the ED case on July 12. However, he is still lodged in Tihar Jail in the CBI case.