New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS) The Delhi government Tuesday dismissed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s allegations of corruption in Commonwealth Games projects, saying they were ‘baseless’.
The government also maintained that all the pending Games works will be completed ahead of the Oct 3-14 event.
The Delhi assembly, on the first day of it five-day monsoon session, witnessed a ruckus as soon as it met, with BJP members protesting over alleged financial irregularities in Games projects.
Some BJP members started beating steel plates with spoons, demanding the suspension of the question hour to discuss irregularities in Games-related projects. The party later walked out of the house seeking a reply from Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
Public Works Department Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan, in his point-by-point reply to the opposition’s charges, said they were ‘baseless’.
‘There has not been a single incident of corruption in 12 years of rule of the Congress. At the same time, the city has witnessed unprecedented development,’ he said.
‘Delhi has earmarked Rs.3,803 crore for various Games projects, whereas Rs.16,198 crore was meant for the overall development of the capital in the last three-four years,’ Chauhan said.
The BJP demanded a judicial probe into the irregularities in the Commonwealth Games projects, which could take place alongside the mega sporting event.
Though Dikshit did not speak on the Games in the House, she intervened twice while Congress legislators were speaking and said: ‘May I say that all of you (BJP members) are misleading the house.’
Later, talking to reporters, she said that all the allegations are ‘false’.
Earlier, the assembly was adjourned twice during question hour after BJP members asked for a discussion on the Games but Speaker Yoganand Shastri disallowed this.
