AAP cries conspiracy as Delhi govt cancels appointment of 9 advisors

After the Delhi Government's General Administration Department cancelled appointment of nine advisors in the Delhi cabinet, the ruling AAP dubbed the order as conspiracy by the Central government.

The GAD issued a notification cancelling the appointment of nine advisors and consultants out of which four, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, were "not even working with the government anymore".

He also alleged that the main purpose of the order was to discharge AAP leader Atishi Marlena as "she is making huge contributions to develop the educational system in Delhi's government schools"

"This is a conspiracy by (the Narendra) Modi government, which doesn't have any other job but to hamper the wors done by our party in the capital," Sisodia told media.

Delhi sealing drive: State BJP leaders to attend all-party meet tomorrow

Delhi BJP leaders will attend an all-party meeting convened by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with the members of the Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee over the sealing issue at the Secretariat on Wednesday.

Party MLA and Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta today confirmed his participation.

"I will go to the meeting. The Delhi unit of our party will also send its representatives," he said.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said he was ready to go to the meeting, even though he had not received a formal invitation.

"I am preparing to go (to the meeting), though there is no formal invite," he said.

Sealing today: Traders toil all night to send stuff packing in South Delhi

It is midnight and south Delhi's Amar Colony is abuzz with activities, except it is not business as usual.
A large number of garment shops in the market, famed for selling salwar suits and other women wear, have still not downed their shutters and workers can be seen packing stuff into boxes for transportation.
"The authorities, conducting the sealing drive in the city, came today. They have told that there will be sealing in Amar Colony Market tomorrow.

So, people are removing extra stuff from their shops so that everything looks compliant," a trader from the market, who did not wish to be identified, said.
The street leading to the Amar Colony Market from the Ring Road was lined up with cars and mini trucks till late night, as shopkeepers bundled out their wares, even as neighbouring local residents peeped out of windows from upstairs and passers-by wore quizzical look.

Delhi chief secy hit by AAP MLAs, says Kejriwal aide: Top 10 developments

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's advisor V K Jain had confirmed that he saw Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs Prakash Jarwal and Amanutullah Khan surrounding Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash and assaulting him, the Delhi Police told a Delhi court on Thursday. Additional public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava told the Metropolitan Magistrate that the police said that "new facts" had emerged after the interrogation of Jain, who had previously said he had not seen anything.AAP, for its part, said the whole issue was a conspiracy to "bring down the Delhi government" and to "defame" the party. "By putting pressure on him (Jain) throughout the day (Thursday) and by threatening him, police forced him to change his statement," AAP MP Sanjay Singh told the media on Thursday.The capital has been gripped by a political storm after the chief secretary on Tuesday alleged that he was beaten up by two AAP MLAs in the presence of Kejriwal at the Chief Minister's residence on Monday night, where he had been called for an emergency meeting. Denying the charges of assault, the AAP has said that the chief secretary was making allegations at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Delhi: 2 MLAs tie mask on Gandhi statue, protest against unused green fund

Two Delhi MLAs today tied a protective mask on the statue of Mahatma Gandhi here, registering their protest against the Delhi government's "non- utilisation" of environment fund to combat air pollution.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Kapil Mishra, before being stopped and detained by the police, managed to put on one mask on the statue of Gandhi and another on that of a woman at Gyarah Murti sculpture near Mother Teresa Crescent on Saradar Patel Marg.

The legislators were later released by the police.

Sirsa, a SAD-BJP MLA, said that it was "shocking" that the Kejriwal government collected Rs 787 crore of environment cess but spent only Rs 93 lakh out of it.

"People of Delhi are suffering from a serious crisis due to air pollution but Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is busy in his dramatics and running away from every responsibility," Sirsa said.

Kapil Mishra is a suspended MLA of Aam Aadmi Party.

The Gyarah Murti sculpture including eleven statues depicts Dandi March of 1931, with Mahatma Gandhi leading men and women including some prominent leaders of the national freedom movement.
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Delhi air pollution: Arvind Kejriwal to meet Manohar Lal Khattar today

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said he would meet his Haryana counterpart in Chandigarh on Wednesday to discuss rising air pollution levels in the national capital as the latter was too "busy" to meet him in Delhi.

Kejriwal said Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had called him and told him that the latter was in Delhi till tomorrow, but cannot meet him in Delhi, citing "he (Khattar) was very busy".

The Haryana CM has asked me to see him in Chandigarh on Wednesday, the AAP supremo said.

The Delhi chief minister has been seeking a meeting with his counterparts from Haryana and Punjab over the last few days to find a solution to stubble burning in the neighbouring states, a major source to high pollution levels in Delhi.

"Khattar ji called. He is in Del till tomo. Says he is v busy n can't meet me in Del. He has asked me to come to Chandigarh on Wed. I look forward to meeting him in Chandigarh on Wed (sic)," Kejriwal tweeted.

Earlier in the day, he said his office was constantly trying to fix a meeting with the Haryana chief minister.

The development comes after Khattar wrote back to Kejriwal and said he was "likely" to be in Delhi on November 13 and 14.
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Delhi govt to bear all expenses on sportspersons as per new draft policy

A Delhi government decision will bring cheer to national and international-level sportspersons in the national capital soon.

The government has drafted a policy under which their training, travelling and other expenses would be fully borne by it, according to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Speaking at an event, Kejriwal said there was no dearth of youths who can earn medals in sports, but their efforts were strained by facilities and government's assistance.

"If they are provided government's assistance and resources, they can do much more," he said.

"In next one or two months, the Delhi government will introduce a policy under which if youths earn a medal at national or international-level, government will bear their expenses, like training, food, travelling," he said.

Kejriwal said a draft of the policy has been prepared and this programme will benefit the youths of rural areas.

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Delhi Assembly's session today: AAJ, BJP to lock horns over metro fare hike

The one-day special session of the Delhi Assembly on Wednesday is expected to be a stormy affair with the ruling AAP and opposition BJP set to lock horns on a series of issues, including the proposed Metro fare hike and guest teachers bill.

Lt Governor Anil Baijal's communication to the Centre to withdraw powers of Department Related Standing Committees (DRSC) of the assembly may also be raised in the House tomorrow.

Baijal had also written to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal requesting him to reconsider the guest teacher regularisation bill, saying it was not in accordance with the constitutional scheme of governance of NCT of Delhi.

In the letter, the Lt Governor argued that the matter relating to 'services' falls beyond the legislative competence of the assembly.

The bill is scheduled to be tabled in the House today.

Asked about the response after the LG's letter to the chief minister, city government sources said the assembly would take a final call on the tabling of the Bill.

"This matter (Bill) is related to education not services" they said.

In a statement, Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta said the Bill was Aam Aadmi Party's "sheer populist measure".
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Sisodia seeks removal of DIP director for not launching Dengue awareness

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has again sought action against the director of the Directorate of Information and Publicity (DIP) for "not following" his direction to launch awareness campaign about chikungunya and dengue in the city.

This is the second time when Sisodia has sought the removal of DIP Director Jayadev Sarangi after he denied his nod to hold the Deputy CM's Facebook Live even on GST with traders.

In his letter to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, the deputy chief minister said that Sarangi was directed on May 25 to place hoardings and run a campaign for creating awareness about dengue and chikungunya, but he has not done anything till now.

"I do not understand what are the compulsions for not replacing such an incompetent officer. I again urge the Lt Governor to either replace him with a more sincere officer or get the campaign on dengue/chikungunya done from him," Sisodia said in the letter.

He also said that at a time, LG himself is proactively involved in preventive operations and taking regular meetings and all the agencies are trying their best to coordinate with each other and do the needful, the DIP is having no interest in creating awareness as required.

Earlier this month, Sisodia had directed Chief Secretary M M Kutty to take action against Sarangi for denying permission to his Facebook Live event, saying an open tender was required to organise such an event.

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AAP's Saurabh Bhardwaj stages live demo of EVM tampering in Delhi Assembly

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday staged a "live demonstration" of alleged electronic voting machine (EVM) manipulation in the Delhi Assembly.

AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj claimed that anyone knowing a "secret code" could tamper with the EVMs and the code could be fed into a machine while casting vote.

The Election Commission has time and again rubbished allegations that EVMs can be programmed to favour any particular party.

Before Bhardwaj's demonstration, Kejriwal tweeted, "Saurabh Bhardwaj will reveal the truth behind a big conspiracy in the country. Satyameva Jayate".

Bhardwaj, who represents the Greater Kailash constituency, claimed that in his capacity as an engineer, he had extensively worked in this area and was aware of how the machines could be fiddled with.
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AAP suspends Kapil Mishra from party's primary membership

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday suspended Kapil Mishra from the party's primary membership.

The decision was taken by its high-powered Political Affairs Committee (PAC) chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

"Mishra has been suspended from the party's primary membership," a source present at the ongoing meeting said.

The decision comes a day after Mishra levelled allegations that Kejriwal had taken Rs 2 crore in cash from Delhi Minister Satyendra Jain.

Mishra was removed from the post of water minister on May 6.

Earlier on Monday, Mishra had dared the party to sack him even as he fired a fresh salvo at Kejriwal, alleging that a Rs 50 crore deal was made for the AAP chief's brother-in-law.

He also submitted documents to the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) against Kejriwal in connection with the water tanker scam and said he has sought an appointment with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday to register a complaint.
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Truth will triumph, tweets Arvind Kejriwal on graft charges by Kapil Mishra

"Truth will triumph," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said, ahead of the special session of the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday in the wake of corruption charges levelled against him by sacked AAP minister Kapil Mishra.

"Truth will triumph. Its beginning will be made during the special session of the Delhi Assembly tomorrow," Kejriwal tweeted late this evening on the graft charges against him by Mishra that has led to turmoil in the Aam Aadmi Party.

The one-day special session is expected to be a stormy affair as the opposition BJP plans to come down hard on the AAP government over Mishra's graft charges.

The ruling AAP will also seek to corner the BJP and its government at the Centre over alleged EVM manipulation.

AAP sources hinted that the revelations which are being planned by the party on Tuesday will be targeted at the BJP.

The Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the AAP on Monday suspended Mishra from the party's primary membership after he made graft charges against Kejriwal.

Mishra dared the AAP to oust him from the party even as he fired a fresh salvo at Kejriwal, saying a Rs 50 crore deal was arranged for the AAP chief's brother-in-law.

Asserting that a bogus bill amounting to Rs 10 crore was made to favour Kejriwal's brother-in-law, Mishra also alleged that during the Punjab polls, there was massive corruption by AAP in ticket distribution, and supplying of liquor by party members.

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Kapil Mishra drops the bomb, says saw Kejriwal take Rs 2 cr 'illegal cash'

A day after being dropped as a minister, AAP MLA Kapil Mishra on Sunday levelled stunning allegations of corruption against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Health Minister Satyendar Jain.

Mishra told reporters at Raj Ghat that he "saw" Jain handing over "Rs 2 crore" to Kejriwal at his official residence.
On being asked, the CM evaded answering where the money came from and said few things in politics cannot be explained, the sacked MLA alleged.

"I kept quiet all this while due to complete faith on Arvind Kejriwal. Day before yesterday, I saw Jain giving Rs 2 crore in cash to Kejriwal. Kejriwal said few things happen in politics. After having seen Jain hand over such a big amount to him, I had to come out. I have handed over the details to Lt Governor Anil Baijal," Mishra said.

"I am also ready to make a statement before the CBI or Anti Corruption Bureau if required," he added.

There was no immediate reaction from the Aam Aadmi Party or the government on the allegations. The BJP demanded the resignation of Kejriwal saying Mishra has "punctured the balloon of his probity".

Mishra further alleged that Jain told him that he "settled land deals worth Rs 50 crore for Kejriwal's relative". The AAP MLA said he was sacked after he confronted Kejriwal over the issue.
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MHA asks AAP to explain details of party's overseas funding

On Friday, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi was asked by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to furnish details of overseas funding to it following suspicion that it might have violated the provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), an official said.

In a communication, the MHA asked the Arvind Kejriwal-led party to explain certain fundings from abroad after suspecting that it might have violated FCRA provisions.

The MHA official said the communication to the AAP was part of its "routine" queries sent to a few other political parties regarding overseas funding to them.

The official made it clear that it was not a show cause notice and a decision on it would be taken only after the AAP submits its reply.

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