Kejriwal Accuses LG VK Saxena of Shifting Blame, Labels Him An ‘Outsider’

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal shared a letter accusing VK Saxena of passing the buck on law and order.

LG Vinay Saxena & Arvind Kejriwal.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter to share his reply to Lieutenant Governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena's letter about Delhi's law and order situation, accusing Saxena of passing the buck instead of solving the problem at hand.

Kejriwal went on to call the LG an "outsider" who was unaware of the ground reality. He also maintained that Saxena has a tendency to take credit for the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP's) work.

He further said that it was "easy to term an extremely serious issue directly concerning the safety of lives and properties of over two crore residents of Delhi as being "politicised," but the LG's response failed to offer even a single effective step being considered by the political bosses of Delhi Police – the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi – to assure the residents of Delhi of their safety.

The Delhi CM drew attention to the Delhi Police's lack of manpower, claiming that they were working at 35 percent to 40 percent of their sanctioned strength.

In his letter, Kejriwal also alleged that the Delhi Police used force on the protesting wrestlers due to political pressure.

"I am constrained to state that Delhi Police is being used as a tool to serve the interests of its political masters. It took many months of protest by medal winning wrestlers and directions of Honourable Supreme Court to even register the FIR in the case of sexual harassment. This reflected badly on the political masters of Delhi Police, certainly, affected the confidence of women in Delhi on its police. Delhi Police did not use force against medal winning wrestlers at Jantar Mantar on its own, nor does it suppress peaceful protests without political orders."

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in his letter

Mentioning the G-20 summit which is just a few weeks away, he raised the issue of four murders taking place in a single day in India's capital city. He highlighted the kind of perception this would generate about Delhi right before the international event, with headlines being full of incidents of serious crime.

He concluded his letter with an appeal to "make a fresh assessment of the number of Delhi Police personnel" which is in proportion with Delhi's population. He emphasised that the needs of the Delhi Police should be given priotity.