L-G Saxena orders dissolution of Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission; AAP protests

New Delhi: In yet another setback for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi, Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena on Thursday temporarily dissolved the Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission (DDCD), claiming that the state-funded body was reduced to accommodating "favoured individuals and unelected friends" to extend monetary benefits to them.

While ordering the dissolution of the DDCD, L-G Saxena said that it failed to serve its purpose and was now catering to "people with specific political leanings", providing financial benefits and extending patronage to select individuals.

"The Commission was created to serve as a policy think-tank manned by domain experts, on the lines of the Planning Commission/NITI Aayog, to provide inputs of governance. It was not meant to accommodate favoured individuals, unelected friends, or politically partisan people," L-G Saxena said.

He also pointed out that these positions were honorary but in the past few years, they were blatantly converted into positions of perk and power.

The L-G also claimed that there was no work allocation among the members of DDCD, and the latter has become a place for fanning "nepotism and favouritism".

He also slammed the AAP administration for "arbitrary" appointments in the DDCD and termed the disbursement of hefty salaries every month as "patently illegal".

The dissolution of DDCD drew protests from AAP, along expected lines.

AAP Minister Sourabh Bharadwaj termed the move "petty politics" and also claimed that the L-G has stooped to a new level of politics for "making his masters" happy.

Hurling a barb at Saxena, Bharadwaj demanded the L-G to explain how he got appointed to the coveted position and who approved his appointment for the post.

“It is a well-known fact that all the commissions, committees, and boards of the Central government or in the BJP-ruled states have political appointees without any test or interview. It’s an old practice,” said the Minister of Health and Urban Development in Delhi government.