Ask Speaker to convene special Delhi Assembly session for tabling CAG report: Vijender Gupta to L-G

Senior BJP leader Vijender Gupta. File
| Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP

Senior BJP leader Vijender Gupta has demanded Delhi Lt Governor V.K. Saxena advise Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel to convene a special session and ask the AAP government to table pending CAG reports.

Mr. Gupta, the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, met the L-G and submitted a memorandum, claiming the government was withholding 14 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports on its performance audits of previous years, said a statement from his office.

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No immediate reaction was available from the ruling AAP over Mr. Gupta’s charges.

Mr. Gupta said that despite persistent demands from the BJP, the AAP government did not convene a special Assembly session to table these reports.

Mr. Gupta urged the Lieutenant Governor to direct the Speaker to ensure these reports are presented in the Assembly promptly.

He said that due to a petition filed by BJP legislators and the intervention of the Delhi High Court, Chief Minister Atishi, who also holds the Finance department, was compelled to forward the pending CAG audit reports to the Speaker on December 24.

However, no progress has been made since then, he said. Consequently, the BJP legislature party filed another petition in the High Court, seeking its direction to the Speaker to convene a special Assembly session for tabling of the reports, he said.

The High Court, taking cognizance of the matter, issued a notice to the Speaker, directing the submission of a counter-affidavit within 10 days. The next hearing in this case is scheduled for January 9, 2025, Mr. Gupta said.

The AAP government’s term ends in February next year. The delay in presenting the CAG reports raises serious questions about the transparency and accountability of the present dispensation, he added.