‘Objectionable’: Delhi LG on Arvind Kejriwal's ‘temporary CM’ remark on Atishi

LG Saxena criticised Kejriwal saying that it was against the principles of Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Indian constitution to refer to someone as “temporary”.

Delhi's lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Sunday wrote a letter to chief minister Atishi, saying that he found Arvind Kejriwal's comment calling her a “temporary chief minister” to be “objectionable”.

Delhi LG VK Saxena and chief minister Atishi. (Raj K Raj/HT File Photo)

In the letter, LG Saxena stated that the AAP convener had not only insulted Atishi but also the president of India, and by extension, LG Saxena as well, when he stated that she was a “temporary chief minister”.

“As a lieutenant governor, I am concerned about this level of public discourse and at the same time, I am hurt by the conversation of presenting the full-time chief minister of my government as a temporary chief minister,” he added.

‘Against principles of Ambedkar, Constitution’

LG Saxena also criticised Kejriwal for his comment saying that it went against the principles of Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Indian constitution to refer to someone as “temporary”.

He claimed that during her short tenure as CM, he had seen Atishi work on various issues with dedication unlike her predecessor, Arvind Kejriwal. He stated that Kejriwal during his tenure as CM over 10 years had not addressed major issues such as pollution in the Yamuna, garbage dumps, a crumbling healthcare system and thus “was not qualified to make comments on the current CM.”

The lieutenant governor also noted that “unauthorised” announcements by AAP's national convener on schemes for senior citizens and women had undermined the chief minister's office.

LG Saxena also pointed out that Kejriwal's claims of Atishi going to jail due to investigations against her had been denied by the concerned government departments as well.