A fresh squabble broke out between the Delhi government and the LG office on Saturday as Water Minister Kapil Mishra alleged that Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung had "refused" to meet him and Health Minister Satyendar Jain -- which was promptly denied by the LG office.
Mishra said that he along with Jain had gone to meet the LG after Jung on Friday night asked Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to immediately return to Delhi from Finland in the wake of rising cases of vector-borne diseases.
"We thought there must be some urgency that is why LG sent a fax to Manishji yesterday (Friday) asking him to return immediately. So we went to meet him to know about the issue. But when we reached his office, we were apprised that he won't be coming to office as today (Saturday) being a weekend day.
"When we contacted him on phone, Jung told Satyendar Jain that he was not at home and could not meet us. Today (Saturday) LG doesn't want to discuss work," Mishra alleged.
The Lt. Governor's Office swiftly denied Mishra's charge that Jung had refused to meet the two ministers.
In a statement, the Lt. Governor Office said both the ministers had come without "either seeking prior appointment" from Jung or intimating him of their visit, to discuss the vector-borne disease situation.
"The Lt. Governor's office came to know of their visit only through the media gathered outside, who had prior information that they were going to visit the LG office," the statement said.
Lt. Governor's office stated that Jung's secretary met the ministers since the Lt. Governor's office is operational all days of the week.
"However, they neither submitted any letter nor gave any representation to the Lt. Governor," it said.
Asked if he had taken a prior appointment, Mishra said: "We cannot wait for the appointment when such an outbreak of vector-borne disease is on in Delhi."
He alleged that the Lt. Governor had "blocked" his number and was not taking his calls.
The LG office also accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of politicising the issue.
"It is regrettable that at a time when Delhi is facing such a serious public health crisis, the elected government is choosing to politicise the issue instead of providing succour to the public," the statement said.
Sisodia is in Finland on a tour to study the education framework there to improve the standard of education in Delhi government schools.
Sisodia on Friday denied he was holidaying in Finland, saying India needed to learn a "lot from their education system, the best in the world".
--IANS
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