The opening day of the Delhi Assembly’s Budget session Friday saw the BJP raising the prosecution sanction request in the JNU sedition case, which remains pending with the AAP government. Advertising The four BJP legislators demanded to know from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal the reason behind the “delay” in granting prosecution sanction, as sought by the Delhi Police. The case pertains to the sedition case filed against former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and others for allegedly raising anti-national slogans during an event on February 9, 2016, held to mark the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. The Delhi Police took three years to file the chargesheet in the case, but the court had refused to take cognizance in the absence of a prosecution sanction. A magistrate court has fixed February 28 as the next date for hearing in the case. The BJP MLAs were marshalled out after they disregarded Speaker Ram Niwas Goel’s repeated pleas not to disrupt Lt Governor Anil Baijal’s speech, through which the session commenced. Later, Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta said he raised the issue in front of Baijal as he wanted the Chief Minister to respond in the L-G’s presence. Meanwhile, during his speech, which is a procedural exercise, the L-G listed the achievements of the AAP government in various areas — education, health, public infrastructure and women’s safety, including installation of CCTV cameras. Baijal said Delhi’s GSDP (gross state domestic product), which has seen a growth of 12.89 per cent, is estimated to be around Rs 7.79 lakh crore. “Contribution of Delhi to the GDP of the nation was 4.14% during 2018-19. The per capita income of Delhi in 2018-19 is estimated at Rs 3,65,529, as compared to Rs 3,28,985 in 2017-18, indicating a growth of 11.11%,” Baijal said. The annual Budget will be presented on February 26. On Saturday, the House is likely to discuss the issue of full statehood. Baijal also said economic growth has to be inclusive to uplift conditions of the weaker sections. Referring to initiatives in the area of education, the L-G said that “for the first time”, 4,178 classroom libraries have been set up in primary section of government schools with the objective of inculcating the habit of reading among children. Over three lakh students attended classes under Mission Buniyaad, aimed at improving reading ability and math skills, he said. Advertising On healthcare improvements, Baijal touched on the construction of mohalla clinics and polyclinics, which were in the middle of a row involving him and the elected government. “PWD will strengthen 340 km of roads this year. In addition, PWD has planned to carry out 500 km of road landscaping. The beautification work under 35 flyovers has been taken up. As a green measure, an innovative pilot project to install solar panels over 16 km of cycle tracks has been proposed on PWD roads,” he added.

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