Fifth Month Work Report of Arvind Kejriwal's (AAP) Government

Day 151

• The AAP government has reportedly hiked the diesel and petrol prices in the national capital. While the petrol prices have been hiked by Rs. 2.78 per litre, the diesel prices have gone up by Rs. 1.83 per litre. A Delhi government press release said, “On the basis of the decision taken in the meeting of Finance Ministers of Northern States on 21st May, 2015 for bringing uniformity in the tax rates, Govt. of Delhi has decided to increase VAT rate on diesel and petrol w.e.f. 16.07.2015”.
• The petition filed by the Delhi Congress Chief Ajay Maken against the Delhi government for using the public funds for self-glorification through advertisements, was accepted by the Delhi High Court on Wednesday. The petition said that the Delhi government violated the Supreme Court ruling that only the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India can feature in advertisements. A High Court bench said “Get instruction on what steps you have taken on the guidelines of the Supreme Court. Centre shall take instruction on the issues raised in this petition then we will think about it”.
• The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to stay the advertisements and publicity campaigns run by the AAP government. The opposition had questioned the government's move to set aside Rs. 526 crore for running promotional advertisements on TV and levelled allegations of misusing public funds. “The government is working for 24 hours. It was for the media to show what works are being done, but it is busy with other news”, said Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi.
• The Delhi government, along with the Noida administration, has been served a notice by the Delhi High Court to file a reply to the PIL, which said that the toll being charged at the DND flyway is invalid. A High Court bench comprising Chief Justice G. Rohini and Jayant Nath said that the Delhi government would have to file its reply on or before 9 September. The PIL said that the High Court should pronounce the 1997 agreement null and void.

Day 150

• Swati Maliwal, the wife of AAP leader in Haryana Naveen Jaihind, has been appointed as the next Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chief by the Delhi government. She is a member of 'Parivartan', an NGO run by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and has been associated with him since 2006. At present, Maliwal is an advisor (grievances) to Kejriwal.
• The AAP government in Delhi is currently working on new software. This software would link all the Pollution Under Control (PUC) centres to a centralised server in a bid to see off “willful mis-reporting” and “tampering of data” when issuing pollution certificates to vehicles. As many as 650 PCUs in Delhi will be connected to the central server. Delhi's Transport Minister Gopal Rai said on Tuesday, “We are working on software that will link all the PUC centres with the central server. At present, a PUC certificate is issued at these centres at the petrol pumps. Most of the time data on emission is tampered with and a certificate is issued”.
• The AAP government in Delhi has asked for 500 acres of land from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to build bus depots meant to accommodate 1,000 cluster buses, which the government plans to buy soon. A meeting between the senior DDA officials and Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai was held in New Delhi on Tuesday and the issue was discussed thoroughly. An official said, “The government has written to the DDA and asked it to provide 500-acre land to build bus depots for parking 10,000 buses that will improve bus service in the national capital”.
• Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar in New Delhi on Tuesday. The duo discussed the AAP government's demand of the “full-statehood” status to Delhi. Nitish Kumar assured his full support to the Delhi government in the matter. “I have always said that Delhi should be given full statehood. The public votes for the government with so much hope. Now if the government is not able to function properly, due to a few obstacles, the people will be upset. The public does not understand what issues a state government faces”, said Nitish Kumar after the meeting.

Day 149

• The AAP government in Delhi on Monday held a meeting at the Delhi Secretariat to find solutions to the waterlogging menace in the city. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked all his ministers, MLAs, government officials and heads of departments why the Delhiites were scared of rains so much. The CM directed all the ministers and officials to put things in place in a way that the citizens would welcome the rains rather than being scared of them.
• The Apex Court on Monday rejected Delhi Congress Chief Ajay Maken's plea in which he had raised the point that Delhi's AAP government had been violating the top court's regulations on promotional public advertisements.
• The Delhi government is preparing to pass a law that will enable it to penalise those schools that conduct interviews of children and their parents for nursery admissions. The Delhi School Education (Amendment) Bill, 2015 is all set to make its way into the assembly, so that the arbitrary attitude of the private schools can be checked, having made the existing laws more stringent.
• The Yamuna River might see two-three new bridges coming up if the AAP government has its plans working. As per the city government's new plans, the eastern part of the city will be connected to Central, North and South Delhi. The strategy making part of the project has even been started by the PWD of Delhi for construction of the bridges.

Day 148

• The registered construction workers of Delhi received good news from the Delhi government on Sunday that announced a hike in the aid for their welfare funds. “Maternity benefits amount increased from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 30,000 and home loan facility has been increased to Rs. 3 lakh for registered construction workers”, said Labour Minister of Delhi Gopal Rai. Even the state education department received a cheque carrying Rs.15-crore amount meant for the children of 26,451 labourers.
• The head of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the Indian capital, Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday hosted an Iftar party. Dignitaries like Kejriwal's old rival and his predecessor Sheila Dikshit and Delhi Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung graced the party. Apart from these, the party was attended by Vice President of India Hamid Ansari, Trinamool Congress MP in Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien and Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit.

Day 147

• Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Manoj Kumar's remand was extended by two days on Saturday. The AAP MLA from Kondli is behind bars for allegedly selling off property that belonged to someone else having prepared fake documents. The prosecutor advocate told the court that Kumar was not cooperating in the investigations. A number of cases are registered against Kumar and he was trying to misguide the officials investigating the case.
• A 24x7 helpline was launched on Saturday by the AAP-led Delhi government that enabled the citizens to lodge a complaint about waterlogging in Delhi. Continuous rains over the past two days have caused severe waterlogging problem and exposed the busted drainage network in the city. Delhi's PWD Minister Satyendra Jain said, “Water drainage system is not adequate in the city. There is 160 such points that are prone to waterlogging. In last few days, I held a meeting with PWD department and instructed them to ensure that water is pumped out from the street as soon as possible”.
• The Delhi District Magistrates and Sub-Divisional Magistrates were instructed by the AAP government in Delhi on Saturday to conduct inspections in connection with the incidents of waterlogging in the city. Waterlogging at most places in Delhi, due to non-stop rains, caused huge traffic-jams. The concerned departments made use of 256 mobile pumps to clear water accumulated at several places across the city.

Day 146

• Another advertisement glorifying the achievements of the AAP-led government in Delhi and attacking the Union government featured on TV on Friday. The Delhi government seems somewhat unperturbed by the scathing criticism by the opposition parties, who lashed out at a proposed Rs. 526 crore being set aside for advertisements highlighting AAP’s achievements. The advertisement carried the punch line “Woh pareshan karte rahein, hum kaam karte rahein” (They continued to trouble us, we continued with our work). A Delhi government official said, “The advertisement lists all government’s achievements, including doubling the education budget allocation, introducing 1,000 new buses, reducing power bills, starting work in unauthorised colonies, creating one lakh new jobs, deploying marshals in buses”.
• The Delhi High Court was intimated by the government on Friday that it had already cleared Rs. 855 crore to the three Municipal Corporations of Delhi till June. The government said that it was more than their sanctioned quota. It also rubbished the allegations that the civic bodies faced apathy at the hands of the AAP government.
• As many as 70 Hindu families migrating from Pakistan to India eight months ago were promised electricity and water supplies by the AAP government in Delhi. The families are temporarily settled in Majnu-ka-Tilla area in Delhi. A senior official of the Delhi government said the families were staying in temporary structure in Majnu-ka-Tilla area ever since they shifted their base to India. Hence, they were not getting basic facilities like water and electricity. Representatives of such families met CM and apprised him about their difficulties.
• Principals from over 250 private Delhi schools on Friday were called on by the AAP-led Delhi government to discuss the possible amendments to the Delhi Education Act, 1973. The meeting was held with a target to find ways to keep a check on the 'exorbitant' fees being charged by the private schools in Delhi.

Day 145

• The AAP-led Delhi government on Thursday said that it would help the Hindus migrating from neighbouring Pakistan out of their miserable condition. The Pakistani Hindus reportedly had met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal earlier and apprised him of their misery. An official said, “They are living in inhuman conditions near Majnu ka Tilla (in north Delhi) without electricity and water. We have decided to help these families”. In fact, an inspection order of their temporary living camps was done by Kejriwal to get know-how of their situation.
• The Delhi government would get a coal block by September or October from the Central government, Delhi's Power Minister Satyendra Jain said on Thursday. He said, “We will get our coal block by September-October this year either in Jharkhand or Odisha”. He also said that support from the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has been sought by his Ministry in this regard to reduce the power tariffs in Delhi.
• A wastewater treatment plant in the national capital was inaugurated by the Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday. After setting the plant open, Kejriwal drank treated water at the plant. He said that hundreds of such plants were required to solve the water crisis troubling Delhi. He tweeted “Today, we inaugurated a small plant to recycle waste water to potable quality. I myself drank that water. Hundreds of such small plants all over Delhi will solve severe water problem in the next few years”.
• The AAP-led government in Delhi on Thursday requested the Delhi High Court to issue orders of setting free those undertrial prisoners who are behind the bars for over six months and do not have serious crime cases filed against them. The Delhi government maintained that no undertrial should bear the brunt of non-speedy trials.

Day 144

• The AAP government in Delhi has decided not to buy anymore electricity from the Centre as it is costly and may increase the burden on the consumers. Delhi's Power Minister Satyendra Jain wrote a letter to Union Minister of Power Piyush Goel and said that the Delhi government would no longer take electricity from the power stations owned by the Centre. The Union government has received a proposal that said that the Delhi government would surrender 2,225 MW power to the Centre.
• The North MCD moved to the High Court against the AAP-led Delhi government alleging that the Kejriwal government had not acted upon the recommendations of the Fourth Finance Commission. The North MCD also accused the Delhi government of not releasing sufficient funds for the corporation as per its quota. Vijay Prakash Pandey, the Chief of the Environment Management Committee of the North MCD, filed a PIL with the court saying that they had written letters to the Delhi government and their representatives and personally met the Chief Minister earlier in this regard but to no avail.
• The Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) finally reached a truce over the appointment of Delhi's Home Secretary. A month long turf war finally came to an end on Wednesday as the MHA chose senior IAS officer Sanjeev Nandan Sahai as Delhi's new Home Secretary. The AAP government and the Central government had their horns locked for over a month as both had deputed their respective choices at the position.

Day 143

• The ugly pitch battle between the AAP-led Delhi government and the NDA-led Central government seems to be approaching a pleasant end soon. The Delhi government and Home Minister Rajnath Singh have reportedly agreed to appoint a new Home Secretary to Delhi who will be not be the choice of either of them. The MHA had appointed Dharam Pal, while the Delhi government had appointed Rajendra Kumar for the same post. A Home Ministry official said on Tuesday, “The past few days have seen hectic efforts by both the sides to find a meeting ground in the interest of governance in Delhi. While Kejriwal and his deputy, Manish Sisodia, met the home minister formally on two occasions, the ice was really broken during the discussions held at Rajnath's residence, away from the media glare. The solution that has come up requires both the sides to step back from their respective positions favouring either Dharam Pal or Rajendra Kumar and evolve a consensus on a third candidate as home secretary”.
• By the end of 2015, Delhi will get five new pathological labs as mentioned on Tuesday by Satyendra Jain, the Health Minister of Delhi. The minister said that the first of these labs would start operations by the next week in west Delhi. Accompanying Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia at the clinic, Jain said, “The first neighbourhood clinic will be ready by next week in Peeragarhi in west Delhi. The government is trying to set up neighbourhood clinics in slum areas, unauthorised colonies and villages. The health department is aiming to improve services and reduce pressure on OPDs of existing hospitals and dispensaries”.
• The Kejriwal government in Delhi received a letter from ASSOCHAM asking it to either reduce the rate of petroleum products or allow VAT credit on them as the proposed hike in VAT would mean a Rs. 5 rise in prices per litre. D.S. Rawat, ASSOCHAM Secretary General, said, “The cost of running with diesel is almost 2.5 times that of coal. This increase of Rs 5 a litre will make industries in Delhi unviable as compared to industries in neighbouring States”.

Day 142

• The AAP-led government in Delhi faced yet another attack by the Congress on Monday who lashed out at it for the Lokayukta post that has been lying vacant since November 2013. Delhi Congress led by Ajay Maken filed a complaint with the anti-graft ombudsman asking it to take action against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers. "Unfortunately, the post of Lokayukta is lying vacant in Delhi since November 2013. And unfortunately for past five months, there is a government of that party which would talk about Janlokpal. Now they (Lokayukta and Lokpal) are nowhere in sight. Two sessions of assembly passed, but there is no trace of the Act. Last time, they (AAP) ran away in 49 days, saying they were not allowed to enact Janlokpal. Now 150 days have passed, where is the Lokpal? Old Lokayukta too is not appointed yet”, said Maken.
• The first indications of a truce between the AAP government in Delhi and the NDA government in the Centre were noticed on Monday when the Kejriwal government sent a list of top IAS officers to the Home Ministry regarding their appointment with the Delhi government. To put an end to the bitter turf war over the appointments of Delhi's home secretary, the Delhi government sent three names to the MHA for its approval. A government official said that the names were sent to the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung 10 days ago, who now sent them to the Union Home Ministry.
• Lambasting the infamous Vyapam scam case, Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should break his silence as people wanted the PM to speak over the controversy. Kejriwal took to micro-blogging site Twitter and said, “People want Prime Minister to speak and intervene in Vyapam. PM should no more remain silent”.
• The senior officials and the heads of departments of the Delhi government were directed to address people's grievances on a daily basis. In a meeting held on Monday and presided over by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the government officials were asked to meet the public from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. everyday and address people's grievances. A government official said, “Officials have been asked to hold public meeting between 12 noon and 1 pm daily in their offices and in case, they have an important official work at that time, the second in command will listen and address the complaints of the public”.

Day 141

• The Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi is preparing to table a referendum in the state assembly soon in connection with the demand of statehood to the National Capital of Delhi. The government will be asking the people of Delhi as to whether they think that statehood should be provided to Delhi. The urban development department of Delhi has been asked by the Chief Minister to submit a feasibility report in the matter as well. A Delhi government official said, “The government is keen on having the election commission conduct the referendum as it will carry more weight. The law department has also been asked to discuss the legal issues. In case that option is not available, the government is ready to conduct it on its own”.
• Delhi may be in the race for being awarded the UNESCO World Heritage City status next year. The AAP government in Delhi is trying hard to get Delhi the prestigious status. AGK Menon, Convener, INTACH Delhi Chapter maintains, “Delhi may not be in the reckoning this year, but we still believe that all is not lost for Delhi. As, technically, it is not 'withdrawal' of the nomination, but a 'postponement'. So, next year, positively, we can again be in the race, but it all eventually depends how pro-active the Centre will be on it”.
• To keep watch over the commodity prices and black marketing in Delhi, the AAP government has decided to build new wholesale markets in the city in the coming two months. Two more markets will be built by the government during 2015-16 on similar lines. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “At present, we have created buffer stocks of onion and potato to ensure there is no black-marketing or artificial shortage”.

Day 140

• The ruling party in Delhi, the AAP, was attacked by the Delhi BJP on Saturday. The BJP said that the AAP-led Delhi government had lost its credibility as it failed to keep its promises. The BJP also said that the AAP had failed to live up to the expectations of the people of Delhi despite of being given a historic mandate. Shyam Jaju, BJP's Delhi Vice President, said, “People are fed up and disheartened by the APP government. They have come to realise after witnessing its performance that the long term politics through allegations and counter allegations is not possible... Development requires vision and execution of such programmes need capability”.
• The AAP-led Delhi government is not baffled by the number of controversies that it has been involved in ever since it assumed power in Delhi. Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia, in an interview to a private media house, hinting towards the centre, said that the AAP government was not troubled by their conspiracies and would focus on their duties. “In the last three-four months, efforts have been made to keep us engaged, drain our energy and create troubles for us. Let them try to keep troubling us, we will keep working. The party at the Centre has been reduced to three seats in Delhi at a time when everybody was talking about a wave. Now, they are doing their politics. Our politics is to work”, Sisodia said.
• The people of Delhi NCR may soon avail the benefits of 'smart comfortable taxis' as the city government is mulling over the modalities to introduce a whole new fleet of smart taxis for the people. As per the government sources, the new smart taxis, apart from being eco-friendly, will be a cheaper option available to people. Transport Minister of Delhi Gopal Rai said on Saturday, “We are working on providing an alternative to auto rickshaws, which is not only eco-friendly but also likely to be cheaper to avoid burning a hole in people’s pockets. The idea is being considered to address the problem of last mile connectivity in Delhi”.

Day 139

• Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday was compared to the "North Korean dictator who is into self- publicity" by the Congress. The Chief of Delhi Congress and former Union Minister Ajay Maken said this and slammed the government's decision of setting aside a budget of Rs. 523 crore for pro-AAP government advertisements. Maken said, “This money could have been spent for treating patients or creating hospitals, beds, schools, roads. Why is it (being spent) when publicity of Delhi government was being managed in Rs 30-40 crore and was more than adequate”.
• Citing their alleged failure to safeguard consumers’ interests, a Delhi government committee led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday recommended sacking of two members and the chairman of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC). The committee headed by CM Kejriwal maintained that the regulatory commission should have cut down the power tariffs in 2011 and 2013; however, instead of that, the tariffs were hiked manifolds in a number of phases neglecting consumers’ interests.
• The AAP government in the national capital yet again came under fire on Friday and this time at the hands of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC). The Committee's General Secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa lashed out at the Delhi government for not including the compensation funds meant for the widows of the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots into its budget. “We welcome the resolution brought by the Delhi Sikh MLA condemning the genocide, but we appeal the government not to politicise the riots issue. The Delhi government is answerable to the Sikhs for ignoring the widows who have been suffering from the last three decades”, said Sirsa.
• A number of AAP MLAs on Friday demanded a hike in their salaries citing their inability to bear the expenses of running their households, maintaining an office and transportation that they have to put up with. “While no special meeting was held for this, concerns about meeting expenses were raised by some MLAs in their weekly meetings with Arvind. Most of them are first-time MLAs, former India Against Corruption volunteers and first-generation Delhi residents”, said an AAP MLA in affirmation to the demand made. The Delhi MLAs are already eligible for a basic pay of Rs. 84,000 per month.
• The Accredited Social Healthcare Activists (ASHA) workers on Friday staged major protests and went on an indefinite strike against the Delhi government. Protesting outside the Chief Minister's residence, the ASHA members demanded that they should be regularised and made eligible for minimum wages. A member of the association said, “Government has been insensitive to our demands. We do not fall in the pay roll of the government unlike Anganwadi workers though we play a vital role by serving the rural population and it is a 24-hour job. We should be regularised as government health workers and should get all social security benefits like pension, gratuity, maternity benefits, etc.”
• The Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government was caught by neck on Friday by the Delhi Congress Chief Ajay Maken for allegedly having failed to fill up the vacant post of Lokayukta. The particular post has been lying vacant for the last two years now. Maken stated that with the help of the Lokayukta, the Delhi government could have easily investigated the irregularities that have troubled Delhi off late. Maken said, “The post of Lokayukta is vacant since the Congress government demitted office in Delhi due to which citizens have become mere spectators of the wrongdoings of the AAP government”.
• The AAP-led Delhi government has decided to recruit teachers who can teach Urdu language in Delhi schools for children belonging to minority community who want to study Urdu instead of Sanskrit. Since there is dearth of Urdu teachers in Delhi's government schools, these students have to study Sanskrit as their third language. The recruited teachers will be deployed in around 100 schools in Delhi where around 14,803 Muslim students are studying. Nagendra Sharma, the Delhi government spokesman, said, “The mass recruitment drive aims to hire qualified candidates who could teach Urdu to those who would like to learn it as a third language. Currently, there are thousands of such posts vacant in close to 100 government schools and the education department will hire teachers according to the need of the schools”.

Day 138

• The Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government may find itself in another trouble as the fomrer AAP member Prashant Bhushan is preparing to move to the Supreme Court against the government's allegedly setting aside Rs. 523 crore for its promotional advertisements. Reportedly, Rs. 523 crore have been set aside by the AAP government as funds meant for radio advertisements glorifying the government's work so far in Delhi. The propaganda will be carried out under the tag-line 'Jo Kaha, So Kiya'.
• Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung was called upon on Thursday by a Delhi BJP delegation to complain against the state government's VAT Amendment Bill, non-compliance to an RTI query and extravagant expenditure on advertisements. A referral memorandum was submitted with the LG by the delegation headed by Delhi BJP Chief Satish Upadhyay, who said “The Delhi government claims to have a surplus budget. Then what is the logic of bringing a proposal to raise VAT (value-added tax)? It raises suspicion. The government has hiked the advertisement budget by 200 per cent and is misusing it for glorification of the Chief Minister in violation of the Supreme Court guidelines”.
• Rs. 1.35 lakh is what Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Civil Lines residence electricity bill reads for consumption of power in June. The 6, Flag Staff Road, Civil Lines residence of the Delhi CM reportedly has 30 AC units at work and a heavy load sanctioned to it. There are two meters installed at the residence - one meant for his private daily usage and the other for the work and meetings of the Delhi government's officials. A source said, “Earlier, the load of the two meters, before the CM shifted to this house in April, was 70 kW total but PWD applied for an enhanced load of 104 kW. The application stated both the meters should be domestic category connections”.
• The AAP government in Delhi provided huge relief on Thursday to the owners of auto-rickshaws and taxis by exempting them from installing GPS units in their vehicles. The two-year exemption belongs only to those who have been operating in the city for over 13 years now. The AAP-led Delhi government, last month, had made mandatory the installation of GPS systems in all public vehicles plying in Delhi to ensure safety of the passengers. A government official said, “We have given a two-year exemption to all autorickshaws and taxis that have completed 13 years on the road from installing GPS. This move will provide a major relief to the owners of these vehicles”.
• The AAP government in Delhi on Thursday issued stern warning to those who were found facilitating the settlement of any new unauthorised colonies in Delhi. The guilty builders, owners or architects would land in jail, the government said. The government has set up 33 task forces comprising officers of ACP rank, Assistant Commissioners of the MCD and officials of the DDA and the PWD to see it to that no new colonies are established in the city.

Day 137

• Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia were the guests for the lunch hosted by Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung on Wednesday. At the occasion, the trio discussed a number of burning issues baffling Delhi for a while now; the ACB Chief M.K. Meena row was one of them. This is being seen as a move of “armistice” between the AAP government in Delhi and the LG, who have been in the middle of the infamous turf war over Delhi's administrative powers.
• The Delhi government was asked on Wednesday by the Delhi High Court to reply and clarify its stand over providing the “martyr” status to Gajendra Singh, the farmer who committed suicide by hanging himself at an AAP rally in the national capital on 28 April. A bench comprising justice Jayant Nath and Chief Justice G. Rohini asked the Delhi government “What do you say?” in light of a petition filed with the court saying that a 'crime' like suicide must not be 'glorified'.
• The AAP government in Delhi was warned by the Delhi BJP on Wednesday that it would call a strike with the traders and transporters if it did not call off its plan to amend the present VAT law in the national capital. The BJP questioned the government's “intentions” behind the decision and said that the common man would bear the brunt of it. Satish Upadhyay, Delhi BJP Chief, said “Is this the outcome of Delhi Dialogue? Did the public ask you to revise VAT rates? This will have a direct impact on the lives of the common people”.
• Defending the appointment of the 21 parliamentary secretaries to Delhi’s Ministers, the AAP-led Delhi government said to the High Court that they were there to “act as a bridge between the minister and his constituency”. The Delhi government responded in the court to a PIL challenging the appointments as being extra-constitutional.

Day 136

• Delhi Chief Minister launched a scathing attack on the NDA-led central government on Tuesday accusing it of “harassing” the AAP government in Delhi. Kejriwal alleged that the BJP government in the Centre is trying its best to lay roadblocks in AAP's mission of fulfilling its poll promises made to the Delhiites. He said, “It never happened in the history of the world especially after getting such a huge mandate. What Advaniji is saying is not wrong, it seems. Everywhere people are saying that Narendra Modi is not letting Kejriwal work. We pass orders and the Lt. Governor declares them null and void. Even the Congress had not harassed the BJP when it was in power in Delhi. I have been trying to meet the PM, but it seems I have a bad luck. He's too busy”.
• The Vat (Second amendment) Bill, 2015 was passed on Wednesday by the Delhi Assembly, a final approval to which will result in petrol prices shooting up by Rs. 5.56/lt, while liquor, tobacco and aerated drinks prices may also see a good hike. There was a huge ruckus in the Delhi Legislative Assembly when the bill was tabled and was instantly opposed by the BJP MLAs. Vijender Gupta, the leader of the opposition in the house, alleged that his mike was being switched off whenever he tried to speak and interject, while another BJP MLA O.P. Sharma broke off the mike.
• Satyendra Jain, Delhi's Health, Power and Industry Minister, said on Tuesday that the AAP government in the national capital was committed towards abolishing the 'Inspector Raj' in the city within a year's time. Jain was at the MSME Summit of CII in Delhi when he said this. “The work on regularization of 29 industrial areas and 22 non confirming industrial areas has already been started and announced under the State Budget”, he added.
• The Delhi State Assembly on Tuesday was apprised by the state government about the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) that was supposed to investigate the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal said, “The Delhi government formed an SIT on the 1984 riots. We will provide lawyers to victims in 1984 Sikh riot cases”. The Delhi assembly is also seeking legal action against the prime accused Congress leader Jagdish Tytler and getting the victims the long awaited justice. “Commissions were set up and everybody knew who the culprits are... But witnesses were bought, cases were closed and some turned hostile. If strict punishment was given to rioters in 1984, then no one would have dared to attempt 2002 riots”, Kejriwal added.
• Another link in the chain of setbacks to the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi was added on Tuesday when the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) termed the AAP government's performance in Delhi as unsatisfactory and not up to the mark. The CAG also said that the government departments were in a mess and have gone off track. The CAG cited the examples such as no mid-day meal being provided to school children; and if provided, the food samples were termed as unhealthy.

Day 135

• The AAP led Delhi government suffered a huge shot in the arm on Monday as the Delhi High Court ruled against its plea to disallow senior IPS officer M.K. Meena from entering the office of head of the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB). The High Court ruled that Meena is the rightful in-charge of the post of ACB Chief, as he was appointed by Delhi's Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung. The Delhi government had filed a petition with the high court saying that the appointment of Meena by LG was unconstitutional as he was a representative of the central government in Delhi.
• An electricity bill amounting close to Rs. 1 lakh in the name of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal surfaced in an RTI report filed by RTI activist advocate Vivek Garg. The bill belonged to Kejriwal's Civil Lines residence, which has two different electricity meters. Sources claim that very heavy load is sanctioned to the property as there are a number of AC units installed. The Delhi BJP has demanded a similar inquiry into all Delhi Ministers' residences.
• The AAP government in Delhi was reprimanded on Monday by the High Court for allegedly “sleeping over” and turning a blind eye to the recommendations of the fourth Finance Commission. It was also criticised for setting up a proxy panel instead. The court directed the state government to apprise it of the entire process of allocating funds to the three municipalities of Delhi.
• The Delhi government is preparing to formulate new rates of VAT in the city, which will be flexible in nature. As of now the VAT is flat 20 percent, but as the Delhi Vat (Second amendment) Bill, 2015 tabled in the assembly by Deputy Chief Minister suggests, the new rates may vary from 12.5 to 30 per cent. As many as 11 categories of items will fall under this, "The Amendment in VAT act will give flexible VAT. The government needs this flexibility to implement similar tax policy with neighbouring states" said Sisodia.

Day 134

• The AAP led government in Delhi on Sunday provided big relief to the people living in around 1,700 unauthorised colonies in the national capital by cutting down to 80 per cent the one time charges payable to get new water and sewer connections. Having done this, the Delhi government kept its promise that it made to the people last month. A government official said, “The reduction has been drastic and historic with water development charges reduced from Rs 440 per sqm to Rs 100 per sqm, while the sewer development charges have been brought down from 494 per sqm to Rs 100 per sqm”.

Day 133

• The AAP government in Delhi took its tussle against the centre and Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung to another level on Saturday when it requested the High Court to disallow MK Meena, appointed by the LG as ACB's Chief, from 'intervening' into the functioning of the Anti-Corruption body. The ACB of Delhi now has two chiefs as a consequence of the ongoing turf-war between the Union and the Delhi government. The Delhi government submitted a PIL in the court against the Home Ministry's ruling that awarded all the powers to the Lt. Governor in connection with the appointment of the bureaucrats in the capital.
• Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday called upon Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to discuss the controversial appointment of MK Meena as the ACB Chief and the powers accorded to the Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung. The officials of the Delhi government denied that it was an important meeting concerning any controversial issue; rather they called it a “general meeting”.
• The NDA-led Union government was challenged by the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday to remove Union Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, HRD Minister Smriti Irani and Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje from their respective posts for their alleged role in the ongoing Lalit Modi saga. Kejriwal sighted an example from his government where he sacked his Law Minister Jitender Tomar following the latter's arrest for allegedly possessing fake law degree and dared the centre to do the same. Kejriwal said in a media interview, “I completely agree with this... When a case was registered against Jitender Singh Tomar, we accepted his resignation and removed him from the Cabinet. This is important. We talked about clean politics. The way we showed the guts, the BJP should also sack Vasundhara Raje ji, Sushma Swaraj ji and Smriti Irani ji from the Cabinet and probe the matter”.
• The AAP led Delhi government deployed around 500 home guards in the government-run hospitals in the national capital as a promise to the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA). The Delhi government had negotiated the deployment of the home guards in government hospitals in lieu of the two-day strike by the resident doctors. Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain said, “The home guards would be working in shifts and the first nine to four shift started today (Saturday). The rest will join duty from tomorrow”.

Day 132

• A so called 'secret note', in connection with the corruption allegations against the ACB Chief MK Meena, has been sent to the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, if media reports are to be believed. The Delhi assembly was intimated about the development on Friday by Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, who said, “Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has sent a secret note to Union Home Minister and mentioned serious allegations – hawala and sofa-parda scam against him (Meena). I hope he (Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh) will take cognisance of this matter and will take strict action accordingly”.
• The Delhi Budget presented in the state legislative assembly on Thursday by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the Finance portfolio, was termed on Friday as 'fake' by Delhi Congress Chief Ajay Maken, who said that an inexperienced government tabled a fake budget. Speaking to media in New Delhi on Friday, Maken said, “This is a fake budget by fake degree government. In its budget, the government has shown 32 per cent rise in tax revenue, which was only 2 percent last year. It has shown 75 per cent rise in non-tax revenue, which was in negative last fiscal. So, the proposed tax and VAT collection and rise in non-tax revenue is not going to realise and hence, this is a fake budget”.
• A private member bill was passed on Friday by the Delhi legislative assembly with a target to bring the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) under the purview of Delhi government. The proposal was moved in the assembly by Sanjeev Jha, MLA for AAP from Burari, who said “The DDA has failed to execute the master plan and it is responsible for condition of the unauthorised colonies. If Delhi government needs land, it has to place a request before the DDA”.

Day 131

• The Delhi government presented its first annual budget for the fiscal year 2015-16. The government presented a budget of Rs. 41,129 crore including Rs. 9,836 crore for the education sector. Finance Minister Manish Sisodia presented the budget and called it the first “Swaraj budget” of the country.
• The Aam Aadmi Party, whose former law minister in Delhi Jitendra Singh Tomar was arrested on the charges of fake degrees, is demanding that action should be taken against Union Minister Smriti Irani in the next three days. The party said if no action will be taken by the Modi government, they will organise nationwide protests against the same.
• The Kejriwal government has decided to discontinue the ‘Delhi Medium Liquor’ (DML) in the current year, a liquor brand which was launched by the Sheila Dikshit government in 2012.

Day 130

• As per the Economic Survey tabled by the Delhi government, there has been a growth of 2.64% in tax collection for 2014-15 as compared to 10.61% in 2013-14. It is also stated that about 45,000 diploma holders are unemployed in the city. A fall is also recorded in the number of enrollments in schools this year.
• The government has nominated a fresh board of directors to the three power distribution companies in the city. It has replaced the directors in the three discoms – BYPL, BRPL and TPDDL. The directors who have been replaced are Shakuntala Gamlin, Arun Baroka, S. K. Shrivastava and S. N. Sahai.
• The Delhi Medical Association (DMA) has asked the Delhi government to ensure availability of adequate life-saving drugs in the hospital, security at workplace and payment of salaries in time. DMA has also said that a section of doctors will still remain on strike.
• The Delhi Assembly passed three bills that included Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (Amendment) Act, 2015, Delhi Netaji Subhas University of Technology Bill, 2015 and Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification Amendment) Bill, 2015.

Day 129

• The Delhi government invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) and also directed the striking resident doctors to resume work immediately. CM Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that the government has agreed to all the demands of the doctors, but they still did not call off the strike and hence the government had to take this step.
• Kejriwal government is likely to table its state economic survey on the second day of the budget session in the Delhi Assembly. The budget session began on Tuesday and the government is expected to present the survey on Thursday.
• The AAP government has deployed 1,000 home guards in all the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses to ensure the safety of passengers, especially the women. The government is planning to deploy 2,000 guards in the first phase and then to raise this number to 5,000.

Day 128

• The Delhi government will table six bills during the budget sessions of the Delhi Assembly, including the bill on Value Added Tax (Amendment). It is also likely to table the school fee regulation bill during the session.
• The Delhi government accepted all the 19 demands of the resident doctors of the government hospitals in Delhi who had gone on an indefinite strike on Monday. The government gave a deadline of 11 a.m. to the doctors to resume work with immediate effect as their strike was badly affecting the medical services.
• Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that the AAP government was trying to reduce the main syllabus in schools by 25 percent and replace it with yoga, music and sports.
• The Delhi government cleared a proposal for over 675 slum clusters in the city. The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, decided that 675 slum clusters would be notified and might also get protection from demolition.

Day 127

• The Delhi government is planning to appoint a person from the corporate world as the chairman of Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTDC) to boost the tourism sector in the city. The newly appointed Tourism Minister of Delhi, Kapil Mishra said that the government aims to revive tourism in the city.
• The Kejriwal government is planning to initiate a weekly drive to control pollution in the city. The government is planning to conduct special drives on a weekly basis in which every week a drive will be dedicated to one particular type of vehicle. For instance, if they chose cabs and taxis, the officials will keep a vigil on the taxis and cabs that week.
• CM Arvind Kejriwal with Deputy CM Manish Sisodia participates in the International Yoga Day celebrations at Rajpath.
• Former Delhi law minister Jitendra Singh Tomar was sent to Tihar Jail in accordance with court orders as the Delhi police said that it no longer needed his custody.

Day 126

• Kejriwal government has decided to offer jobs to the survivors of acid attacks in Delhi. The government has also decided to form a committee to look into such matters. As per official figures, there are 35 acid attack survivors in Delhi and the government is considering this matter on priority basis to identify suitable vacancies for them.
• CM Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia will attend the International Yoga Day celebrations to be held at Rajpath on 21 June 2015.
• Delhi government has announced that it will table the budget for the remaining nine months of the current fiscal year on 26 June 2015 in the Assembly. The government will also table its economic survey on 25 June. Delhi Legislative Assembly’s budget session is scheduled from 23-30 June.

Day 125

• The Delhi government has said that the economic survey would be tabled on 25 June and the budget for the remaining nine months of the current financial year would be tabled in the Legislative Assembly on 26 June. The budget session of the Assembly is scheduled to be held from 23 - 30 June. According to an official, the government will also make a provision of fund to continue the power subsidy that will come to an end in June.
• The sanitation workers of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi are set to go on an indefinite strike from 26 June again over various demands such as disbursement of their salaries for three months, confirmation of contractual employees’ services, payment of arrears to those whose services were regularised in 2003 and 2004 and cashless medical facilities. The sanitation workers have promised to choke the streets with garbage again.
• Delhi’s Transport Minister Gopal Rai said that Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has agreed to extend the date of the registration for old e-rickshaws till 31 December and it will be notified soon. Rai explained that so far, only one union has been approved by ICAT to issue forms and certify e-rickshaws. "With only one union registering these vehicles, only 24,000 people have registered for learning licenses and a total of 26,000 e-rickshaws have been registered," Rai said.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal are expected to be in attendance at the International Yoga Day celebrations organised at Rajpath on 21 June. A senior Delhi government official said, “CM Kejriwal was more than likely to be present at the event given the grand scale at which the event is being organised in the capital.” Prime Minister Modi and others will perform at least 15 Yoga asanas for about 30 minutes.
• Over 300 Aam Aadmi Party youth-wing volunteers today protested outside the residence of Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Central Delhi and demanded her resignation.. They also demanded sacking of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. An AAP youth-wing leader Vikas Yogi said “The Modi government says 'Na Khaenge, Na Khane Denge'. In such a case, it is the moral responsibility of the BJP and the government to sack Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje who helped Lalit Modi".

Day 124

• Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia met with Union Minister for Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday and put forth their need for land for building bus stops, hospitals, schools and colleges in Delhi. The lack of required land area has deterred the AAP led Delhi government to keep its word on this poll promise to the national capital. Deputy CM Manish Sisodia talked to the media after the meeting and said, “Arvind Kejriwal and I today met Naidu ji and asked him to give land to the Delhi government for construction of new schools and colleges”.
• Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal lent support on Thursday to the controversial 'Emergency' remarks made by the veteran BJP leader LK Advani. Kejriwal, whose government in Delhi has its horns locked with the Central government, tweeted, “Advani ji is correct in saying that emergency can't be ruled out. Is Delhi their first experiment”? Senior BJP leader Advani earlier said "forces that can crush democracy have become stronger and emergency can be repeated", which reverberated in the political corners as direct attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government.
• The complaint made by a retired Delhi Police inspector against the Chief of Delhi's Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) M.K. Meena accusing him of corruption was forwarded by the Delhi government to the Vigilance Department on Thursday. According to one government official, the matter is forwarded to the Vigilance Department for further investigation into the allegations.
• Rajendra Kumar, appointed as Delhi Home Secretary by the Delhi's Home Minister Satyendra Jain, was again asked to step away from his post by the Union Home Ministry as it was a null and void position for it. The AAP led Delhi government was told by the Union Home Ministry that it recognised Dharam Pal only who was appointed by the Centre itself.

Day 123

• The AAP-led Delhi government has found itself in yet another controversy as the Delhi Police is in the process of filling charge sheets against 21 AAP MLAs against whom criminal cases were registered in various police stations of the national capital. In fact, Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, is also on the list as three cases were registered against him. The list also includes Kejriwal's deputy Manish Sisodia and Ram Niwas Goyal, who is the Assembly Speaker. However, the news of the Delhi Police’s filing charge sheets was denied by Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi, who said, “What you have come to know is not known to me”. But he added, “In pending cases, our objective is to complete the investigations at the earliest and bring the facts before the court”.
• A Delhi government press release said on Wednesday that the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) received directions from the AAP government to levy daily penalty on private discoms indulging in long and frequent power outages. The Kejriwal government issued directions to the DERC in light of the large number of complaints of frequent and long power outages and load shedding that it had received from the people of Delhi.
• The AAP-led government in Delhi announced that it would provide basic facilities such as power, drinking water and proper sanitation to the old age home in the Rangpuri Pahari area in Delhi where recently a number of deaths of the inmates were reported. To get a clue of their grievances, AAP leader Sanjay Singh and Delhi's Social Welfare Minister Sandeep Kumar met the inmates on Wednesday.
• The Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi would now take inputs and ideas from senior officials in Delhi's Schools for the infrastructural upgradation of the same. For this purpose, the city government has decided that committees comprising school principals will be formed where they would contemplate and ponder over ways to upgrade the infrastructure in various schools of the city.
• After the ‘News Media’, it is now the turn of 'Social Media' to come under the radar of the Delhi government. The AAP government in the national capital decided on Wednesday to keep an eye on the social media in connection with the content published on them pertaining to the government. A government source said, “The blueprint of the proposal is being prepared. It would require a dedicated team of experts who understand the dynamics of social media besides having a nose for news. Unlike monitoring of the print and electronic media, here the team would have specialists. Since there is staff crunch, we might employ new people, or even outsource some”.

Day 122

• Former Law Minister of Delhi Jitender Singh Tomar withdrew his bail plea on Tuesday. He was granted permission by Additional Judge Vinod Singh to withdraw his bail plea and submit it with the concerned court all over again. Tomar is in jail for allegedly possessing a fake law degree.
• The instructions issued by the AAP-led Delhi government to the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Authority (DERC) were finally paid heed to on Tuesday as the DERC decided to review the power tariff hike in Delhi though the authority maintained that the proposed 4 percent to 6 percent hike in the power tariff was fair. The DERC would take a week or 10 days to file its review report on the matter. Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal had asked the DERC to review the power tariff hike as the move was at variance with rules. Delhi's Power Minister Satyendra Jain in his letter to the DERC had said, "The said order is not in accordance with Section 62(4) of the Electricity Act, 2003, which allows amendment of tariff only once in a financial year except in respect of any changes expressly permitted under the terms of any fuel surcharge formula".
• A new chapter was added to the Kejriwal-Jung turf war on Tuesday when the AAP government slammed the Lieutenant Governor for not releasing around 4,000 home guards to be deployed as marshals in the DTC buses.

Day 121

• Various issues baffling Delhi, including the Najeeb Jung saga, were discussed in a talk held on Monday between Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The Delhi CM was accompanied by Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. According to sources, Kejriwal apprised Rajnath Singh about the various problems that his government is facing in connection with his turf war with the Lieutenant Governor.
• The AAP government in the national capital was challenged on Monday by the state unit of the BJP, which asked the ruling government to reveal the names and designations of the 35 corrupt government officials. Delhi BJP’s President Satish Upadhyay said, “The government claims to have arrested 12 Excise Department officers. We cross-checked and found that the list includes two grade III head clerks and two class IV employees. The other eight arrested are actually common traders, i.e. excise licensees and their employees. Similarly, on cross checking the list of nine arrests in the Delhi Jal Board, it was found that four of them are private Jal Board contractors”.
• Delhi finally got its new Law Minister officially on Monday when Kapil Mishra sworn-in as a Cabinet minister in the Delhi government. Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung administered oath of office to Mishra, who assumed his duties as the Head of the Law Department. Kapil Mishra succeeded Jitendra Singh Tomar, who is in jail for allegedly possessing a fake law degree.
• The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) was asked by the AAP-led government in Delhi to give a second thought to the hike in power tariff in the city. Satyendra Jain, Delhi's Power Minister, on Monday, sent a letter to DERC and said, “The said order is not in accordance with Section 62(4) of the Electricity Act, 2003, which allows amendment of tariff only once in a financial year except in respect of any changes expressly permitted under the terms of any fuel surcharge formula”.