TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal writes to PM Narendra Modi requesting him “not to stop the Delhi Budget”. “It is the first time in the country’s 75-year history that a state budget has been stopped. Why are you upset with the people of Delhi,” CM Kejriwal wrote in his letter to Modi. “It is utterly shameful,” Kejriwal said.
The Budget was to be announced today in the Delhi assembly, but Arvind Kejriwal said it had been blocked by the Centre, and called the action “gundagardi (hooliganism)”. The Centre has asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to resend the Budget after addressing concerns flagged by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, who represents the Centre in Delhi.
Sources in the Union Home Ministry said the AAP government has been asked to explain the high allocation to advertisements and the relatively low funds assigned to infrastructure and other development initiatives. AAP said the allocation on advertisements had not been raised and was the same as last year. In the 78,800-crore budget, 22,000 crore was assigned to infrastructure spending and 550 crore on advertisements, said Delhi’s ruling party.