Kejriwal did not think twice before abandoning Delhi for his ambition in Lok Sabha elections. With such an order in place, it will be difficult for him to woo Delhi voters back in case elections take place again.
The common man must be crying over his fate today. He voted for Aam Aadmi Party and Arvind Kejriwal to get better governance, but he was left in lurch as Kejriwal resigned from his post. Now the power waiver that he had given as a gift to the people of Delhi will no longer be implemented.
The Delhi High Court today directed the city government not to implement the 50 percent subsidy announced by AAP government to people who did not pay their power bills from October 2012 to December 2013.
In an oral order, a bench of justices BD Ahmed and Siddharth Mridul directed, “Don’t take any further steps on it.” The matter has now been listed for further hearing on 21 February. The court has also directed the standing counsel for the Delhi government to seek instructions and file an affidavit indicating the actual position regarding the proposal of then AAP government.
The court passed the order as there was “no clarity” on whether the Delhi cabinet had taken a decision to implement the subsidy as claimed by the petitioner Vivek Sharma.
The bench, after going through the government file, observed that a note by ex-CM Arvind Kejriwal had said the subsidy proposal needed to be placed before the cabinet. However, the court also noted that while it appears that no decision had been taken, “there is no clarity on that”.
“Get proper instructions and file an affidavit, if necessary, indicating the position,” the bench told the Delhi government standing counsel.
During the proceedings, Sharma contended that the proposal appears to have been implemented as according to the media reports, AAP leader Manish Sisodia had openly said so. Sharma also said that as per media reports, the Lt Governor has directed all government departments to implement the major orders of the former AAP government.
“That is not the point. (As per the file) absolutely no decision has been taken. There is no cabinet decision on paper,” the bench told the petitioner.
The PIL has been filed against former Delhi government’s announcement of 50 per cent waiver on electricity bills of people who defaulted in payment, saying it will “spread chaos and anarchy by rewarding defaulters instead of penalising them.”
Kejriwal did not think twice before abandoning Delhi for his ambition in Lok Sabha elections. With such an order in place, it will be difficult for him to woo Delhi voters back in case elections take place again.
The negative press surrounding AAP is already making the road to LS difficult for the party. With fresh court order, it will be interesting to see how Kejriwal and his party responds.
