Account of swaraj fund sought by Opposition leader

New Delhi: Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta on Tuesday challenged Aam Aadmi Party convener and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to give an account of ‘swaraj fund’ and ‘mohalla sabhas’ to Delhiites before embarking on the same plank in UP civic polls.  

He said that Mr Kejriwal should first answer Delhiites whether the most touted AAP planks of swaraj fund and mohalla sabhas were still alive or they had been given a quiet burial. 

Mr Gupta wanted to know the fate of swaraj bill, swaraj act, swaraj fund, citizen local area development fund, mohalla sabhas and Residents Welfare Associations (RWAs) that were to ensure funds and functions in the hands of the people. 

He charged Mr Kejriwal of befooling citizens of UP by showing them a dream. The AAP had promised in its manifesto in Delhi that it will enact the ‘swaraj act’ to devolve power directly to the people. 

But nothing of this kind has happened in the city. Power to Mohalla Sabhas and RWAs still remains a distant dream. 

Mr Gupta asked the chief minister to account for Rs 570 crore earmarked for mohalla sabhas funds. “On assuming power, the Aam Aadmi Party government set aside Rs 220 crores for the fund during 2015-16. It was revised to Rs 350 crores for the year 2016-17. 

However, the government discontinued the said scheme from 2017-18 onwards. No one in the government knows about the fate of schemes or the funds. The government also owes an explanation to the public,” said Mr Gupta.

Nobody in the government has a clue neither about the status of works under the schemes nor the funds, Mr Gupta said.