Top 10 controversies of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal turns 47-year-old today. Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmy Party (AAP) won Delhi assembly elections 2015, by a landslide majority by winning 67 assembly seats out of 70 seats.
Congress, that ruled Delhi for a decade was reduced to zero, while the BJP failed to woo voters with 'Modi magic', and could just bag three seats.
His first tenure as Delhi CM in 2013 was short-lived, as he governed the national capital only for 49 days. He came to be known as AK-49, with his short-tenure, full of dharnas and protests.
Recently, BJP said that Kejriwal and controversies are made for each other, while calling him "controversywal" and "nautankiwal".
On Tuesday, Aug 4, Kejriwal even clubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and Delhi Police in the same category and termed them as "speed breakers" for AAP's "car" of governance in the national capital.
As Kejriwal celebrates his 47th birthday on Sunday, Aug 16, lets take a look at 10 rocking controversies, that kept him in the media limelight:
1. Kejriwal's showdown with Lt Governor Najeeb Jung:
Soon after forming the government in Delhi in Feb 2015, there have been many instances where Kejriwal and Lt Governor Najeeb Jung were involved in ugly war of words.
Kejriwal has always accused Jung of acting at Centre government's behest. Jung and Kejriwal have been locked in an acrimonious battle over governance in Delhi, particularly on the posting of officials in the Delhi government. Delhi Police reports to Jung, not to Kejriwal.
2. Controversial TV ads:
Glorifying his government's achievements, The AAP government on July 12 came out with an advertisement with a tagline "Woh pareshaan karte rahein, hum kaam karte rahein" (They kept on troubling us, but we continued working).
Another ad in June 2015, featured a housewife is seen doing all the household chores while her husband does nothing but read the newspaper, watch tv and sip on a cup of tea.
In the ad she is extremely happy to receive the electricity bill which is much lower to the previous one and she thanks Kejriwal (whom she fondly calls Arvind in the ad). She is seen praying and thanking God for keep 'her Arvind' safe from all the bad elements in the society.
3. Nepotism:
Kejriwal invited another controversy by appointing party leader Naveen Jaihind's wife Swati Maliwal as the chief of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW).
Kejriwal as well as AAP has had estranged relations with the outgoing DCW cheif Barkha Singh.
The opposition parties criticised Kejriwal for for giving positions to people from the party in government.
4. Ugly spat with Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan
In March 2015, Kejriwal shocked everyone when he ousted his two most trusted confidantes and AAP's founding leaders- Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav.
A video had emerged where CM Kejriwal was heard hurling verbal abuses at Bhushan and Yadav.
"We would have lost the elections because of these two (Yadav and Bhushan). If they were in another party, they would've been kicked out", he allegedly said.
5. Shakuntala Gamlin's appointment
In May 2015, while calling Gamlin's appoinrtment "unconstitutional", Kejriwal government had said the LG cannot bypass the elected government and Chief Minister and that he acted against "the Constitution, GNCT of Delhi Act and the Transaction of Business Rules."
In her letter to Jung, Gamlin accused Kejriwal's Secretary Rajendra Kumar of making a telephone call asking her not be in race for the post.
She also accused the AAP government of casting aspersions on her integrity to service and levelling false charges.
In her scathing letter to Jung Gamlin claimed she was pressurised by a senior bureaucrat in CM Kejriwal's office not to be in race for the post due to her alleged proximity to BSES discoms.
6. Fake degrees:
AAP government in Delhi is accused of giving cabinet posts to politicians possessing fake educational degrees. Some of them are MLA Bhavna Gaur, former Law minister Jitender Singh Tomar, AAP MLA Surender Singh.
7. One man-centric party
There have been numerous cases where Kejriwal has been described as a man with ego and attitude, in handling various situations.
8. Fallout with Delhi Police
Earlier this month, Kejriwal called top Delhi Police officers the "agents" of PM Narendra Modi, as the state assembly adopted a resolution to set up a panel to probe the "police inaction" in cases of crime against women.
Meanwhile Delhi Police Commissionar BS Bassi responded by saying, "I take criticism in a positive spirit, even if it is wrong."
However, recently, it came to the fore that Kejriwal never formally asked for the control over Delhi Police, according to an RTI query filed by an activist Dev Ashish Bhattacharya .
Kejriwal has been blaming Center for debilitating law and order in the national capital.
9. Thulla remark
Kejriwal stirred a controversy by calling a police constable, "thulla", during an interview.
The constable, who is posted at Govindpuri police station in New Delhi, had on July 22, filed a complaint in which he had claimed that he felt 'insulted and defamed' by Kejriwal's remark.
Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi had also hinted his displeasure over the use of word 'thulla' by Kejriwal.
However, Kejriwal apologised for using a Hindi derogatory word and clarified that he used the word for "corrupt" officials.
10. Hefty power bills
The electricity bill of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Civil Lines residence was about Rs 91,000 for the months of April and May, according to an RTI reply.
In June, The power bill for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's official residence stood at over Rs 1.35 lakh.
The Delhi BJP has slammed Kejriwal for "high power bills" and accused him of spending public money for personal comfort.
After the electricity bill for April and May came out, the Delhi government had said it included electricity charges for a camp office and various other facilities installed for visitors at the complex.
Sources said Kejriwal's residence has over 30 air-conditioners besides a number of air coolers.