AAP’s fresh attack on L-G Saxena over KVIC graft charges

NEW DELHI:  Lieutenant Governor (L-G) V K Saxena misappropriated crores of rupees making payments to ‘ghost artisans’ when he was the chairman of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), AAP MP Sanjay Singh claimed on Wednesday, demanding his ‘immediate’ sacking and a probe against him by the central agencies. Singh backed his claims referring to a 2016 Patna High Court order on payment of wages to artisans and findings of a CVC inquiry into alleged disbursement of crores of rupees to ‘ghost artisans’.  

As he made the allegations, he tore the defamation notice sent to him by the L-G recently, saying such notices can neither intimidate him nor stop him from ‘telling the truth’. He also asked Saxena to respond to his allegations using his personal social media handle, saying the official handle of the Raj Niwas “belongs to the Delhi L-G, not you”.

“Saxena is a corrupt and dishonest person. When he was the chairman of the KVIC, he gobbled crores of rupees of at least Rs 2.5 lakh workers, who did sewing and embroidery work, and turned the KVIC into a den of corruption,” Singh said.

He demanded that the BJP-led Centre immediately sack Saxena as the Delhi LG and order a probe by the CBI and the ED against him. “If there is a little honesty in the central government, it should immediately remove such a corrupt LG and start a probe against him by the CI and ED,” he added.