The answer given to a question raised in the Delhi Assembly regarding Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s visit to the Burari Transport Authority last month is “being reworked” before being laid on the table of the House, government sources said on Tuesday.
The initial reply to the question had triggered a run-in between Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot and Transport Commissioner-cum-Secretary Varsha Joshi.
Contentious reply
The question, posed by BJP MLA Om Prakash Sharma, asked whether Mr. Kejriwal found “gross irregularities” during his visit to the facility on July 17. The answer is scheduled to be tabled in the Assembly on Thursday.
“A briefing on the question and others was held on Tuesday. Both the Minister and the Transport Commissioner were present. The answer is being reworked in a way which has both sides in agreement and is expected to be finalised by Wednesday,” said the government source.
The briefing also discussed a policy aimed at affecting access control to keep touts away from transport facilities across the Capital, said the source, adding that the Minister was scheduled to apprise the House of the policy along with tabling the answer on Thursday.
On August 3, Mr. Gahlot allegedly misbehaved with Ms. Joshi during a similar briefing over the answer to the question. The source said that Ms. Joshi had stated that no irregularities were found at the Burari authority on the grounds that allegations of corruption against a Transport Department official — levelled by a visitor in the presence of Mr. Kejriwal — were still under investigation.
This reply allegedly incensed Mr. Gahlot, who had later told The Hindu: “How can a senior officer from the department state on record that no discrepancies were found at the transport authority when it is a matter of record that these came to light and even led to the CM taking note of it,” he said.
The Transport Minister had clarified: “The disagreement was only on the answer that is to be tabled, not by the department, but by me in person, which, if false, amounts to a dishonour of the House and has repercussions. The proliferation of touts at such facilities is evident,” he had added.