NEW DELHI, Mar 21:
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday requesting him to “not stop Delhi’s budget”, amid a row between the Centre and the AAP dispensation in the national capital over the issue.
The presentation of the Delhi Government’s Budget for 2023-24, which was scheduled for Tuesday, has been put on hold with the Kejriwal dispensation and the Central Government trading charges over allocations under various heads.
“This is the first in the last 75 years that a state’s budget has been stalled. Why are you upset with Delhiites? Please don’t stall Delhi’s budget. With folded hands, Delhiites urge you to pass their budget,” the chief minister said in the letter.
Speaking at a News18 programme on Monday, Kejriwal charged that the Centre was resorting to “gundagardi” and said it was the first time in the country’s history that the budget of a government was put on hold. A video clip of his speech was tweeted by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Sources in the city government said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has stopped the budget and it will not be tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.
As the chief minister lashed out at the Centre, sources in the MHA said the ministry has sought clarification from the AAP government as its budget proposal had high allocation for advertisement and relatively low funding for infrastructure and other development initiatives. Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, the chief minister referred to the Economic Survey report on per capita income rising by 14.18 per cent in Delhi said the national capital was doing “exceedingly well” despite obstacles.
“Delhi is doing exceedingly well, despite all obstacles being created on daily basis. Imagine if such obstacles were not created and all govts worked together for the welfare of people. Then Delhi would grow multiple times faster,” he tweeted.
According to the Economic Survey tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Monday, per capita income in the national capital rose by 14.18 per cent to Rs 4,44,768 in 2022-23 at current prices compared to Rs 3,89,529 in 2021-22. The per capita income of Delhi has been around 2.6 times higher as compared to the national average, both at current and constant prices. It was Rs 3,31,112 in 2020-21. The tax collection of the Delhi Government registered a “tremendous” growth rate of 36 per cent during 2021-22 (provisional) as compared to the negative growth of 19.53 per cent in 2020-21 due to COVID-19 pandemic, the survey tabled by state Finance Minister Kailash Gahlot said.
“Delhi’s growth speaks,” Kejriwal said in another tweet. (PTI)
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