Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken on Thursday demanded Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal resign from his post after the Shunglu Committee found Delhi government guilty of nepotism and abuse of power. He also called for an investigation into the matter.
The Shunglu Committee report has found the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government guilty of illegal allotment of land, nepotism and unauthorised foreign trips by party members. Maken got hold of the panel's report, which has reportedly indicted the Kejriwal-led government in Delhi, on Thursday through a Right to Information query filed on February 22.
"There are serious charges of corruption and nepotism. We demand that a case under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act be filed and the Home Ministry ask the CBI to investigate. Till the investigation is completed, Mr. Kejriwal has no right to continue in office," Maken told reporters in Delhi on Thursday.
The Shunglu Committee found ministers and officials of the Delhi government had taken "24 non-statutory foreign tours" in a span of 18 months, Maken added.
"If Arvind Kejriwal has any conscience left then he should immediately resign from the Chief Minister's post," Maken said.
The three-member committee, which is headed by former Comptroller and Auditor General VK Shunglu, was constituted by former Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) of Delhi Najeeb Jung in August 2016 to look into the functioning of the AAP government. The committee examined 404 files of the government and submitted a 269-page report to Jung in November 2016. However, neither the government nor the L-G's office made the report public.
The committee raised questions over the the appointment of Soumya Jain, daughter of Health Minister Satyendar Jain, as the adviser to mission director in the Mohalla Clinic project started by the Delhi government. It also questioned the appointment Nikunj Agarwal, a relative of Kejriwal's wife, as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Health Minister. The committee also expressed its concerns over the allotment of government-owned 206, Rouse Avenue bungalow to AAP as its office.
