Delhi’s subsidy schemes to continue, assures L-G

V.K. Saxena assures Delhiites that no scheme will be stopped because an individual is in jail; ruling Aam Aadmi Party claims the statement as a victory for its government

Delhi Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena on Saturday said none of the subsidy schemes being run in the Capital will be stopped just because Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is lodged in jail, prompting the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to claim the statement as a victory for its government.

Following the arrest of the Chief Minister in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21, Mr. Saxena at a public forum had said that he won’t let the government run from jail. AAP leaders had also claimed that efforts are being made to scuttle several welfare schemes being run by the Delhi government.

Raj Niwas, in a statement, said the L-G has taken serious note of “patently false and deliberately misleading statements” issued by members of a particular political party and Ministers claiming that subsidy schemes pertaining to electricity, water, and bus rides for women will be stopped.

“The purported imaginary stoppage of these schemes in future is being attributed to the Central government, and L-G Mr. Saxena has assured the people of Delhi that none of the subsidy schemes benefitting the poor will be discontinued,” the statement read.

“An individual being in jail under judicial custody, as per due process of law, does not affect any scheme, especially those that have been duly approved by the Government of India and the L-G himself, before being introduced in, and subsequently passed by the Delhi Legislative Assembly,” the statement added.

Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, without taking the L-G’s name, said on X, “Those who used to say that they will not let the government run from jail have accepted defeat. They have accepted that the work of Delhi will not stop. The Kejriwal government will run from jail.”

Issuing a statement later, Mr. Bharadwaj said, “It is a significant victory for Mr. Kejriwal that even while in jail, he has compelled the Lieutenant-Governor to say that work and free schemes will continue.”

“The ideology which used to call free water and free electricity as freebies (free is Revadi) is today promising the people of Delhi that no one can stop Arvind Kejriwal’s free scheme. People of Delhi, this is the power of your son, Arvind Kejriwal…,” the Minister said in another tweet.