The BJP on Wednesday accused Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of "misleading" people on a CAG report on Delhi's finances, and claimed fiscal deficit has risen "astronomically" in last two years.
BJP-linked think tank Public Policy Research Centre (PPRC) director and party vice president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe alleged Kejriwal's claim that the Delhi government had surplus revenue was a "blatant misrepresentation" of facts.
No immediate reaction was available from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Referring to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on finances, Kejriwal had said on Tuesday that the Delhi government had maintained a revenue surplus over the last five years and asserted that it was because of an "honest government".
"The chief minister is misleading the people of Delhi, exploiting even a statutory document by CAG. The CAG report that the chief minister was referring to analysed the period from 2013-14 to 2017-18," Sahasrabuddhe said.
"Kejriwal conveniently disguised this fact and claimed that the report spoke of his own term from 2015 to 2020. The chief minister did not think twice before lying on the floor of the Assembly, making a mockery of the most important institution in our democracy," he blamed.
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The "reality" behind the fiscal deficit figures of Delhi lies beyond the 2017-18 period that the CAG audit report considered, he said.
"The fiscal deficit has risen astronomically from a surplus of Rs 113 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 689.16 crore deficit in the 2018-19 (revised estimates) and further skyrocketed to Rs 5,901.90 crore (budget estimates)," Sahasrabuddhe claimed.
It meant, that the period beyond March 2018, the Delhi government "lost control" on the fiscal deficit. The fiscal deficit per capita has increased 55 times in last two years as compared to 2017-18 levels, he claimed.
The Delhi government must release a white paper on the latest macroeconomic indicators and should also tell people about its efforts in managing fiscal stability, he demanded.
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