A political blame game began soon after the waterlogging on Delhi roads after the three-hour downpour in the morning with the ruling AAP blaming the LG for the mess and the BJP asking the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to resign if he had no solution to prevent flooding.
The Congress blamed the BJP, which rules the civic agencies, and the AAP, which is responsible for PWD roads, claiming both the parties were running away from their responsibilities.
US Secretary of State John Kerry’s remark at Indian Institute of Technology - Delhi wondering if Delhiites use boats or amphibious vehicles to reach a destination added fuel to fire.
The BJP blamed Kejriwal for inviting such a “humiliating” remark from the visiting dignitary.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia blamed Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung for not making officials, reporting to him, work to tackle waterlogging of roads.
Public Works Department Minister Saytendar Jain faulted the city’s drainage system. “The water takes time to flow into drains after rain stops. We have pressed into service over 500 pumps.”
Sisodia tweeted: “Why is the LG not commenting on the waterlogging…let the LG make his hand-picked officials work. “
“I request the LG to step out of office, like the AAP ministers, with officers and solve public grievances,” Sisodia tweeted in Hindi.
BJP MP Parvesh Verma carried boats and protested outside Delhi Secretariat alleging failure of the AAP government in handling the situation.
Leader of Opposition in Assembly Vijender Gupta of the BJP said the Delhi government is solely responsible for the mocking comments by Kerry on Delhi flooding.
“The Kejriwal government was fighting tooth and nail for the ‘most efficient PWD Secretary’ till yesterday who also happened to be the PWD Engineer-in-Chief. He along with the government turned out to be a disastrous failure,” said Gupta.
BJP councillor Ashish Sood said if the AAP government has no plan to tackle flooding but wants to blame LG for water-logging then “Kejriwal should resign first and then we will question the LG”.
Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said: “The desilting of the PWD roads, which should have been completed by May 15, was not done even till July 5, resulting in waterlogging when it rained.”
“Both the BJP and AAP are blaming each other to run away from their responsibilities,” he said.
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