Delhi General Administration Minister Gopal Rai on Monday instructed his department to make arrangements for the hoisting of the national flag by Finance Minister Atishi on Independence Day, a directive termed “unconstitutional” by the BJP.
“I had a meeting with Chief Minister [Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar Jail] today. He desires that Minister Atishi should hoist the flag on 15th August 2024 at the Chhatrasal stadium event in his place,” Mr. Rai wrote to the department.
The Minister issued the instruction days after the Tihar Jail authorities withheld the CM’s letter over the issue to Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena, terming the communication “abuse of privileges” under the prison rules.
“The undertrial prisoners are governed as per legal provisions of the Delhi Prison Rules, 2018... it is surprising to note that the contents of the letter, which was handed over by you on 6.8.2024, were leaked to the media without any authority,” the jail authorities said in a note on August 9, the content of which emerged in the public on Monday.
It stated that only private correspondence with a designated set of people is permissible under the rules, and the letter to the L-G office did not “qualify” for it.
The jail administration also asked the CM to desist from any such “impermissible activity” in future, failing which it warned of “invoking” provisions of the prison rules to “curtail” his privileges.
Reacting to it, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said the comments of the jail administration on the CM’s letter show that he is not permitted to issue any governmental directives.
“As soon as the note from the Jail Superintendent surfaced, Rai issued a new misleading letter stating that as per the CM’s instructions, Atishi would hoist the national flag,” Mr. Sachdeva said.
“It is evident that Mr. Rai’s letter is unconstitutional and invalid, and Atishi cannot hoist the national flag,” he added.
Published - August 13, 2024 12:38 am IST
