Kejriwal blames Baijal, issues show-cause to DUSIB CEO

NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday slammed Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and issued a show-cause notice to the CEO of DUSIB for deaths due to cold in the national capital. Kejriwal said the L-G did not consult the government before appointing the CEO of Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), which looks after night-shelters for the homeless in the city.

“Media reported 44 deaths of homeless due to cold in Delhi. I Am issuing showcause notice to CEO, DUSIB. Negligible deaths happened last year. This year, L-G appointed a useless officer. L-G refuses to consult us before appointing officers. How do we run govt like this?” said Kejriwal.

Commenting on this step by CM, Saurabh Bharadwaj the chief spokesperson of AAP and an MLA said, “He is the same officer for whom Assembly Committee recommended adverse remarks in his service record. Chief Secretary (former) Kutty went to HC to defend this officer against the committee. L-G will never act against such officers.”

However, the DUSIB officials claimed that the number reported by the media was incorrect as this includes unidentified death in hospitals, railway tracks and suicides which have no connection with the work done by the agency. The CEO of DUSIB Shurbir Singh was not available for the reaction.

Meanwhile, Delhi BJP questioned the AAP government over the deaths of homeless people in the city this month, saying that if Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal would have taken an interest, their lives could have been saved. “At least 42 homeless people have died in the first one week of January 2018, and this information has been confirmed by the Ministry of Home Affairs,” Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said. He also said that since December, over 250 homeless people have died.

Hitting out at the Chief Minister for preferring the Rajya Sabha elections and candidates over the homeless, the BJP MP said, “If Kejriwal would have taken more interest in the homeless instead of his Rajya Sabha candidates, then we would not have heard about the deaths.”

The BJP leader also said: “Let's leave the blame game and do an all-party meeting on how to save lives of homeless in the city.” Tiwari also said that when he got the news, he went to see the conditions of the homeless in the city during nights.