New Delhi: The political slugfest between the AAP and Delhi’s lieutenant-governor V.K. Saxena intensified on Friday with the former alleging that Mr Saxena had misused his position and awarded a contract for the interior design of a “khadi lounge” in Mumbai to his daughter when he was the KVIC chairman and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “immediately” sack him.
The AAP called it a case of “moral corruption” by Mr Saxena and claimed that “a financial angle” in it would also come out if “a fair and thorough” probe was conducted into the award of the interior design work to his daughter Shivangi Saxena.
The L-G’s secretariat denied the charge and said Mr Saxena’s daughter did the work pro bono. The L-G’s office accused the AAP leaders of “touting fake figures” on the development of a KVIC lounge in Mumbai.
Addressing a joint press conference with five party MLAs, AAP national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh alleged: “L-G V.K. Saxena, during his term as KVIC chairman, misused his position and awarded a contract for the interior designing of a khadi lounge in Mumbai to his daughter. In awarding the contract, he violated the provisions of the KVIC Act 1961.”
He said the Prime Minister should “immediately” sack Mr Saxena as the Delhi L-G and legal action should be taken against him for illegally awarding the contract to his daughter. “The Prime Minister got only this tainted person (Saxena) in the country to appoint as Delhi L-G? He must immediately be sacked,” Mr Singh demanded.
”If he is not immediately removed from the post and an inquiry set up, Prime Minister Modi will not have any right to speak even a word on parivarvaad (dynasty system),” he added.
Mr Singh said the AAP was holding consultations with senior lawyers and was preparing to go to court on this issue. “Delhi L-G can’t escape his misdeeds. We will soon be approaching the court in the matter because the due process of awarding the contract was not followed,” he said, asking: “How can the KVIC chairman give a contract to his relative?”
Refuting the AAP MP’s allegation, the L-G’s office tweeted that Mr Saxena, as KVIC chairman, had got the design of the Khadi Lounge, Mumbai, made by his daughter, who is a designer, free of cost. “It should be known that the Hon’ble Lt. Governor, as KVIC president, had got the design of Khadi Lounge, Mumbai, made free of cost (pro bono) requesting his daughter, who is a designer,” Raj Niwas clarified in a tweet, adding: “Contrary to your (Singh’s) statement, there was no tender for the design, and no one got the tender and instead, lakhs of rupees of KVIC were saved.” It said: “The @kvicindia has issued a letter categorically stating that the entire cost of execution of the project of its Mumbai Lounge was Rs 27.3 lakhs, contrary to fake figures being touted by leaders of a political party,” the L-G’s secretariat tweeted from its official handle.
Replying to questions on the Raj Niwas’s clarification, Mr Singh said the KVIC Act clearly bars officials from awarding any contract or work to any of their family members. “What kind of logic is this? Saurabh Bharadwaj (AAP leader), who is a computer engineer, wants to do Central Vista IT work for free. Our Praveen Deshmukh (AAP MLA), who is an MBA, wants to take care of the management of the Prime Minister’s Office for free. Will they be given this work?” he asked.
The AAP MP said KVIC should have followed a due process to award the work for interior designing of the Khadi Lounge as per the rules, and if it wanted the work to be done free of cost, it should have given an open invitation to rope in the best interior designer. “Whether due process was followed? Whether any tender was floated or an open invitation was given for free service of the interior designers for the work. Saxena’s daughter was the only best interior designer available in the country?” Mr Singh asked.
AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj as well as party legislators Atishi and Durgesh Pathak too demanded sacking of Mr Saxena and a probe against him. “It’s a case of moral corruption and I am confident that some financial angle would also surface if a fair and impartial probe is conducted into it,” Mr Pathak said.
Mr Bharadwaj said Mr Saxena should welcome a probe into accusations against him, as Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia did, and come out clean. The AAP spokesman took exception to the L-G’s office issuing clarifications on allegations against Mr Saxena through its official Twitter handle, and called it “inappropriate”. “He should give all the clarification in his personal capacity. It is not right to issue clarifications through the official (Twitter) handle of a constitutional post.” he said.
