Kejriwal skips three sittings of four-day session

The absence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from the ongoing Assembly session has evoked sharp criticism from the BJP and the Congress for showing misplaced priority

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Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta of the BJP said: “Kejriwal has disowned Delhi.”
“Earlier, he went for meditation in Himachal Pradesh, now he is in Goa and next he will be going to Vatican. Is he going to serve Delhi for five years from the long distance?” he said.

“Kejriwal needs to explain his absence from the Assembly whose session was called by him. Either the session was called as part of a gimmick or he believes the issues being discussed are not worth his attention,” said Gupta.

“In the months of July and August, Kejriwal has been on political tours to Goa, Gujarat and Punjab. He has spent a better part of these two months bolstering AAP's electoral ambition,” said the BJP leader.

The Delhi Congress said the very fact that Kejriwal was away in Goa while the Assembly was in session, showed where his priorities lay.

Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said the city is paying a heavy price for Kejriwal’s national political ambitions.

He does not seem serious about governance in Delhi, Maken said.

Kejriwal earlier went to Punjab while there were waterlogging problems in Delhi. Now, dengue has assumed dangerous proportions but the Chief Minister is busy campaigning in Goa, he said. “Political ambitions of the AAP are proving costly for the city.”

The AAP leader does not want to work like a Chief Minister but as a national party president. “Can anyone expect a Chief Minister to leave a city fighting dengue and water crisis for political activities in other states,” he asked.

Even while campaigning in Goa Kejriwal on Wednesday was active on the Twitter. He retweeted a youtube video “Criminals of Aam Aadmi Party” and tweeted and slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi while accusing the BJP of being “anti-Dalit”.

AAP leaders said Kejriwal has kept himself free from portfolio for handling the political responsibility of the outfit.

“He had foreseen such a situation. Since he does not hold any portfolio, his cabinet ministers are competent enough to deliberate on any public welfare issue,” said an AAP leader.

Another close aide of Kejriwal defended the Chief Minister’s absence by claiming that the Goa campaign was planned a few months in advance but the Delhi Assembly session was called at a short notice after the August 4 decision of the Delhi High Court over the role of Lieutenant Governor in administration of the city.

A BJP leader said the AAP was caught on the wrong foot in its attempt to call the session close to an Election Commission hearing on the 21 parliamentary secretaries.

“The last hearing on the matte was on August 19 and the AAP was expecting a decision on the parliamentary secretaries fate on that day. Had things happened as per their expectation, the on-going session would have suited them to highlight victimisation in the media during Kejriwal’s Goa visit,” said the BJP leader.

The next hearing in the parliamentary secretary matter is on August 29. The 21 parliamentary secretaries are facing a complaint seeking their disqualification for holding an office of profit.