Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him not to stall the union territory's budget.
"It is the first time in the country's 75-year history that a state budget has been stopped. Why are you angry with the people of Delhi," the Delhi state chief Arvind Kejriwal alleged in his letter. "The people of Delhi are pleading with folded hands, please pass our Budget."
Why Was Delhi's Budget Stalled?
Late Monday night, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Delhi government stated that the union territory's budget would not be presented on Tuesday as scheduled since the central government had stopped it.
Delhi Government employees won't receive their salary from tomorrow, Kejriwal told reporters on Monday.
How Delhi's Annual Budget Gets Cleared
Based on the set procedures, the Delhi government prepares the annual budget and sends the financial statement to the federal government representative Lieutenant Governor's (LG) office for his assent and comments.
After which, the state chief sends the budget to the federal Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for clearance. Then, it is sent to the President of India for approval, following which the Budget is tabled at the Assembly.
According to media reports, the LG approved the annual financial statement with certain observations on 9 March, and sent the file to the state chief (Kejriwal).
However, the federal home ministry, in an official statement, stated that the LG raised "certain concerns of administrative nature on the proposed Budget, keeping in view the fiscal interest of the National Capital Territory [or Delhi] on which MHA… has requested GNCTD [Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi] to resubmit the Budget addressing these concerns for taking further action. The reply from GNCTD has been awaited for the last four days. For the benefit of the people of Delhi, the GNCTD should submit a reply immediately."
Now, the Delhi government claimed that the chief secretary failed to communicate the Home Ministry's concerns in time, and informed the government on Monday at 6 p.m.
Delhi Finance Minister Gahlot claims that the chief secretary received the MHA letter on 17 February, however, he kept delaying the matter.
"We have responded to MHA's concerns and submitted the file back to Delhi's LG, after the state chief's approval, at 9 pm on Monday. The role of the Chief Secretary and Finance Secretary of Delhi in delaying Delhi's Budget ought to be investigated," Gahlot told reporters.