Arvind Kejriwal led-AAP govt, Centre trade charges as presentation of Delhi budget put on hold today

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Delhi Budget 2023-24: Amid the tussle between the Centre and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the presentation of the Delhi government's budget for 2023-24, scheduled for Tuesday (March 21), has been put on hold. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the Union Government stalled Delhi budget which was scheduled to be presented in the Assembly.

However, the Home Ministry sources dismissed the allegations, adding that the MHA has instead sought clarification from the Delhi government as its budget allocation was focussed on advertisement rather than the infrastructure sector. The Centre has also asked the Delhi government to resubmit the Budget addressing concerns raised by LG Saxena regarding fiscal interest.

Delhi govt responds to MHA's claim

Responding to the MHA's claim, the Delhi government said that the allocation for the advertisement has not been increased in this year's budget. "MHA is lying. The total budget of Delhi is Rs 78,800 crores. Out of this, Rs 22,000 crores are for infrastructure, while only Rs 550 crores will be spent on advertisement. Last year also the budget for advertisement was the same. There is no increase in the advertising budget," Delhi's Finance Minister Kailash Gahlot said.

The Delhi L-G office said that VK Saxena had approved the Annual Financial Statement 2023-2024 with certain observations on March 9, and sent the file to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Further, the L-G office also routed AAP's claim and said that the file was received at the L-G Secretariat at 9:25 p.m. on Monday and was sent back to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at 10:05 p.m. after approval by the Lieutenant-Governor.

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What Delhi L-G said? 

 "Since Delhi is the country's capital and also a large metropolis in which need for creation and improvement of infrastructure is extremely important, the allocation for capital projects does not appear to be sufficient," the L-G added. 

It should be mentioned here that Delhi's Budget goes to the Home Ministry for approval. Only when the MHA approves the Budget, it is presented in the Delhi Assembly. However, Delhi's Finance Minister Kailash Gahlot has called for the investigation of the role of the Chief Secretary and Finance Secretary of Delhi in "delaying Delhi's budget".

(With inputs from agencies)