New Delhi:

A political row has erupted over Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena’s edited social media post over the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station stampede which occurred on Saturday night and caused the deaths of 18 people, including five children, and left many others injured.

Initially, Mr Saxena’s post on X (formerly Twitter) acknowledged the “tragic loss of lives and injuries” due to the “disorder and stampede” at the station, offering his condolences to the victims’ families.

However, within minutes, he altered the statement, removing any mention of deaths and softening the language to describe the incident as merely “unfortunate.”

There has been an unfortunate incident at New Delhi Railway Station.
Have spoken to Chief Secretary & Police Commissioner and asked them to address the situation.

CS has been asked to deploy relief personnel.

Have instructed CS & CP to be at the site and take control of…

— LG Delhi (@LtGovDelhi) February 15, 2025

The revision immediately drew criticism from opposition parties, who accused Mr Saxena and the Centre of trying to downplay the disaster. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) called it an attempt to evade responsibility. 

“This is Delhi LG VK Saxena appointed by the Central Government. The BJP’s Central Government and he is responsible for the security of crores of people of Delhi. This tweet of his is proof of how expert he is in running away from his responsibility. After the tragic incident at New Delhi Railway Station, he first accepted in his tweet that there was a stampede and that passengers had died,” the AAP said in a statement. 

ये केंद्र सरकार द्वारा नियुक्त दिल्ली के LG वीके सक्सेना हैं। BJP की केंद्र सरकार और इनके ऊपर दिल्ली के करोड़ों लोगों के सुरक्षा आदि की जिम्मेदारी है। अपनी जिम्मेदारी से भागने में ये कितने माहिर हैं, इसका सबूत इनका यह ट्वीट है।

नई दिल्ली रेलवे स्टेशन पर हुई दुखद घटना के बाद… pic.twitter.com/D3RjKjj8yL

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) February 16, 2025

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also weighed in, sharing screenshots of Mr Saxena’s original and edited tweets alongside posts from railway officials, questioning the lack of coordination between authorities.

The stampede broke out around 9:55 pm on Saturday night as thousands of passengers crowded platforms 12, 13, and 14, many attempting to board trains to Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh.  Security personnel struggled to control the surge as passengers tripped and fell, leading to a deadly crush. 

The stampede resulted in the deaths of 18 people, including 11 women and four children – two of whom were under the age of 10. Fifteen others sustained injuries and are undergoing treatment at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital.

The Delhi Police have launched an official investigation into the incident. They are reviewing CCTV footage from the station and analysing public announcements made at the time.

New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi Tuesday alleged that an order was issued by a panel on the “directions of Lt Governor VK Saxena” for demolition of multiple Hindu and Buddhist religious structures, a charge refuted by the Governor’s office as “cheap politics”.

The Lt Governor secretariat in a statement said neither are any temples, mosques, churches or any other place of worship being demolished, nor has any file in this regard was received by it.

In a letter to Mr Saxena, the chief minister said she was informed that the ‘Religious Committee’, in a meeting on November 22, ordered for demolition of the religious structures in the national capital.

It has been decided by the Religious Committee “on your directions, and with your approval” to demolish multiple religious structures across Delhi, the chief minister claimed.

In a sharp reply, the Lt Governor secretariat alleged that the chief minister is playing “cheap politics” to divert attention from her as well as her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal’s “failures”.

“If at all, the Governor has issued strict instructions to the police to maintain extra vigil against forces who may indulge in deliberate vandalism for political benefits. His instructions are being strictly followed, as was witnessed during the just gone Christmas celebrations which did not see any untoward incident,” the Lt Governor secretariat said.

In her letter, Atishi said the list of religious structures to be demolished includes many temples and Buddhist places of worship. The religious structures were situated at West Patel Nagar, Dilshad Garden, Sunder Nagri, Seema Puri, Gokal Puri and Usmanpur, as per the list furnished by the chief minister.

Atishi requested Mr Saxena in her letter to prevent “demolition” of the religious structures, saying it would hurt the sentiments of the communities concerned.

Earlier, all decisions of the Religious Committee were sent to the Governor’s office via chief minister and the home minister, she said, adding the government would then ensure that no religious sentiments were hurt due to such action, she said.

The chief minister said an order was issued last year by the Lt Governor’s office stating that demolition of religious structures is a matter related to “public order” and would be directly under the purview of Mr Saxena.

“Since then the work of the Religious Committee has been directly monitored by you. All files of the Religious Committee are routed from the Home department to the Lt Governor office, completely bypassing the chief minister and the home minister,” she said in the letter to Mr Saxena.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena’s New Year greetings to Chief Minister Atishi, heavy in its criticism of her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal, has drawn a stinging response. In a two-page letter, the Chief Minister, among other things, expressed hope that in the New Year, Mr Saxena would “let go of the baggage of politics” and work towards the welfare of the people of Delhi. 

The 10-point “concerns” she raised, hit out at Mr Saxena over his “criticism rather than constructive cooperation”, “unnecessary interventions that slowed down critical work” and actions taken to stop the Mahila Samman Yojana and accused his office of becoming a “proxy of the BJP”. 

The Lieutenant Governor, she alleged, has failed to keep the city safe – “the one job that you are directly responsible for and mandated to do”.

“While an ex-Member of Parliament has been busy distributing money to lure voters right under your nose from his illegally occupied bungalow, your response of giving him police protection to conduct this illegal activity will go down in history as a benchmark of irresponsible and illegal behaviour,” her letter read.

“While kids and women are being kidnapped and assaulted on a daily basis in Delhi, you have been occupied by pointless mudslinging and issuing instructions to the police to conduct raids and inquiries on our leaders on a daily basis,” she added.

“Your actions have irreparably damaged the respect that people held for the office of the Lieutenant Governor and have tarnished the legacy left behind by your predecessors,” added the Chief Minister.

The Lieutenant Governor – who said he was writing in a personal capacity — had opened his letter to the Chief Minister with much praise, commending her efficiency and initiative. 

“This is the first time in my two-and-a-half-year tenure that I am seeing a Chief Minister discharge the duties of a Chief Minister. Your predecessor did not handle a single government department and never signed a file. In contrast, you are handling many departments and trying to tackle many governance issues,” he wrote.

The Lieutenant Governor also expanded on his criticism of Mr Kejriwal, pointing to his description of Atishi a “temporary Chief Minister”.  

“There is no such post in the Constitution and it is a reprehensible neglect to the concept of democracy in the Constitution of Babasaheb Ambedkar,” he wrote, underscoring that it was an insult to the President of India who appointed her and himself, who administered the oath to her. 

The Delhi government, Atishi wrote, is “deeply rooted in the vision and legacy” of her predecessor.

“Be it the educational reforms, healthcare revolution, or infrastructural advancements, his model of governance has become a benchmark not just in Delhi but across India. The progress we are making today is a continuation of this legacy, and we remain committed to fulfilling this vision… The people of Delhi have repeatedly shown their faith in this government and in Shri Arvind Kejriwal,” she wrote.

New Delhi:

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena’s season’s greetings to Chief Minister Atishi has packed in a punch directed at her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal. On this occasion, the LG said he was ‘hurt’ that Mr Kejriwal had called Atishi a “temporary Chief Minister”.  “There is no such post in the Constitution and it is a reprehensible neglect to the concept of democracy in the Constitution of Babasaheb Ambedkar,” he wrote, underscoring that it was an insult to the President of India who appointed her and himself, who administered the oath to her. 

“Everyone knows in what circumstances you were appointed,” he wrote. Then listing multiple areas, where he alleged the government has failed, he said while Mr Kejriwal has admitted to his government’s shortcomings, Atishi, as the current Chief Minister, will bear the blame even though no one can do much in the time left in her tenure. 

Assembly elections are due in Delhi in February next year. 

The Lieutenant Governor – who said he was writing in a personal capacity — however, had opened his letter to the Chief Minister with much praise, commending her efficiency and initiative. 

“This is the first time in my two-and-a-half-year tenure that I am seeing a Chief Minister discharge the duties of a Chief Minister. Your predecessor did not handle a single government department and never signed a file. In contrast, you are handling many departments and trying to tackle many governance issues,” he wrote.  

The Chief Minister is yet to respond to the issue.

The Lieutenant Governor had showered praise o Atishi earlier alsom calling her “a thousand times better” than Arvind Kejriwal.

Last month, at the seventh convocation ceremony of the Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women, Mr Saxena had said, “I am happy today that Delhi’s CM is a woman, and I can confidently say that she is a thousand times better than her predecessor”. 

In August, Mr Saxena had refused to allow Atishi to hoist the said national flag on Independence Day. She was the choice of Mr Kejriwal, then Chief Minister who was in jail in connection with the Delhi liquor scam. 

Mr Saxena had over-ridden Mr Kejriwal’s choice and had nominated then Delhi Home Minister Kailash Gehlot to hoist the flag during the official government function.

New Delhi:

Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena today ordered investigations into allegations concerning the Aam Aadmi Party’s schemes ahead of the assembly elections scheduled for next year. The Lt Governor’s office has issued separate directives to the Delhi Chief Secretary and Commissioner of Police, based on complaints raised by Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal termed the allegations against his party as “fake” and posed a question: “What will they investigate?” 

The allegations include claims about fraudulent collection of personal data under the guise of AAP’s Mahila Samman Yojana, the presence of Punjab intelligence officers near the residences of Congress candidates, and the alleged transfer of cash from Punjab to Delhi to influence the elections.

Mr Dikshit’s complaint also flagged concerns about the Mahila Samman Yojana, an AAP initiative promising a monthly payment of Rs 2,100 to eligible women. The LG has ordered the Chief Secretary to conduct an inquiry through the Divisional Commissioner into the alleged collection of personal data by private individuals under the guise of enrolling beneficiaries. The Delhi Police has been instructed to take legal action against those breaching citizens’ privacy by organising unauthorised registration camps.

“We were repeatedly asking what would the BJP do by contesting elections. What is their plan? Today we got to know that if they win, they will stop the Mahila Samman Yojana, Sanjeevani Yojana, free electricity, free education and free electricity,” the former Delhi Chief Minister said. 

Delhi government’s Women and Child Development and Health departments had earlier issued public notices stating that the Mahila Samman Yojana and the Sanjeevani Yojana lacked government approval and were “non-existent.” These notices warned citizens against sharing personal details with unauthorised individuals and described the registrations as fraudulent.

“I had said that after winning the election, we would give Rs 2,100 to women and free treatment to the elderly above 60 years of age. Both these schemes were so beneficial for the public that lakhs of people registered for them already. This made the BJP nervous, many BJP leaders told me that to forget about winning, the BJP’s deposit would be forfeited in many places,” Mr Kejriwal said. “First, they sent their goons, then sent the police and uprooted the registration camp, today they have ordered a fake investigation that there will be an investigation. What will they investigate? We had made an election announcement that if we win the election, we will implement it.”

Mr Dikshit’s complaint to the Lt Governor claimed cash being transported from Punjab to Delhi, allegedly to fund election-related activities. The LG’s office has directed the Delhi Police Commissioner to monitor vehicles entering the city from neighbouring states. Police forces in neighbouring Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan have also been alerted to prevent any potential illegal activities.

In another serious allegation, Mr Dikshit claimed that Punjab intelligence officers were stationed near Congress candidates’ residences in Delhi. The LG’s office has directed the Delhi Police Commissioner to investigate this claim and submit a detailed report within three days.

The BJP shot back, accusing Mr Kejriwal of settling illegal immigrants in the national capital for votes.

“Arvind Kejriwal and his party’s government are continuously settling illegal voters in Delhi. Today we showed 6 examples…Arvind Kejriwal does the work of settling illegal voters in Delhi before every assembly election. In 2015, 14 lakh votes were increased, in 2019, 9 lakh votes were increased and the same conspiracy is being hatched in Delhi now but the Bharatiya Janata Party will not let this conspiracy succeed. We have complained to the Election Commission, we will do it today also,” said Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva.

The AAP has alleged that the investigations are politically motivated, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using the LG’s office to sabotage its electoral prospects. 

“This order has not come from the L-G’s office but from Amit Shah’s office. The BJP wants to stop the Mahila Samman Yojana in Delhi because they do not respect women. BJP has accepted defeat in the Delhi elections,” AAP said. 

The party claimed that over 22 lakh women have already registered for the Mahila Samman Yojana.
 

New Delhi:

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has called for “strict action” against Bangladeshi immigrants living illegally in the national capital.

In a letter to the Delhi government’s Chief Secretary and the city’s police chief, Mr Saxena has demanded a special drive over the next 60 days to identify and deport illegal immigrants per extant rules and in a time-bound manner.

The move follows representations by delegation of Muslim community leaders from the Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin and Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin; they expressed concern over attacks in Bangladesh on Hindus and other minority communities and, by way of retaliation, said they wanted action against “infiltrators” from that country living in the national capital.

“They have demanded that illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators should neither be given houses on rent nor any employment by any establishment… their children should not be given admission in government or private schools,” they declared, also demanding the revocation of government documents, like Aadhaar or voter IDs, that were illegally acquired,” the LG’s office said.

“In the wake of the gravity and seriousness of the issue, the Lt Governor has desired a two-month-long special drive be launched to take stringent and time-bound action…”

Ill-feeling against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants has skyrocketed over the past weeks following attacks on Hindus in that country; on Saturday police in Tripura’s Agartala detained 10 Bangladeshis – from the Hindu community – for having entered this country illegally.

Authorities and some civilians in Tripura, which shares a border with Bangladesh, have been particularly vocal and harsh on this topic. Earlier this month a hotelier association said it would not accept bookings by tourists from Bangladesh and restaurants would not serve them food.

Over 50 protesters also vandalised the Bangladeshi mission in Agartala.

India – which has expressed concern over a “surge” of violence against Hindus – described the incident as “deeply regrettable”, and said diplomatic and consular properties should not be targeted. However, India also called on Bangladesh to protect all minorities living in its territory.

Ties between India and Bangladesh have come under strain since the interim government in that nation – headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus – came to power following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August.

Since then, at least three Hindu priests – from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, beginning with Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari – have been arrested. He has been charged with sedition. Several temples have also been vandalised.

The Yunus government has reaffirmed “in the strongest terms” that every Bangladeshi, regardless of their religious identity, has the “right to establish, maintain or perform respective religious rituals and practices or express views without hindrance.”

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New Delhi:

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena – for so long at odds with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party – suddenly offered words of praise for Chief Minister Atishi Friday, calling her “a thousands times better” than her predecessor and AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal, with whom the Lieutenant Governor has had several tempestuous run-ins – on legal, administrative, and governance issues – over the past months.

Speaking at the convocation of the Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women this afternoon, Mr Saxena declared himself pleased the current Chief Minister is a woman.

“… and I can confidently say she is a thousand times better than her predecessor,” Mr Saxena said, throwing a glance at the Chief Minister, on stage with him, as he did so.

Atishi was sworn in on September 21 after a brief tussle within the AAP over who would replace Mr Kejriwal. Arvind Kejriwal resigned days earlier – a statement move after securing bail in the controversial and alleged liquor policy scam case and before the next year’s election.

Mr Kejriwal declared he would seek a “certificate of honesty” from the people of Delhi.

READ | Arvind Kejriwal Resigns After Choosing Atishi As His Replacement

Mr Saxena didn’t always have kind words for Atishi.

In April, while Mr Kejriwal was in jail, he ripped into her and party colleague Saurabh Bhardwaj for “a lack of seriousness” when summoned to his office to discuss “routine works of governance”.

READ | “Lame Excuses”: Delhi LG Slams AAP After Ministers Snub Meetings Call

Also on the LG’s firing list on that occasion was former Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot; Mr Gahlot, who was on the shortlist to succeed Mr Kejriwal, has since jumped to the BJP.

READ | BJP, With Kailash Gahlot At Fore, Launches ‘Sheeshmahal‘ Protest

As recently as last month the Lieutenant-Governor slammed Mr Kejriwal for not implementing the centre’s flagship health insurance scheme – the Ayushman Bharat – during his term as Chief Minister.

Dismissing the Delhi government’s own scheme – which he called “a web of illusion” – Mr Saxena also accused Mr Kejriwal of suppressing reports by central auditors.

The two also traded multiple barbs while Mr Kejriwal was jailed on corruption charges connected to the liquor policy case; this included battles over the nomination of aldermen to the Municipal Corporation and claims Mr Saxena was “stalling” the budget for no reason.

In fact, Mr Kejriwal’s government has long argued the BJP, in power at the centre, has a stranglehold on Delhi via the Lieutenant Governor, who was nominated by that party.

READ | AAP “Fishing In Congress’ Waters” As Arvind Kejriwal Plots Re-Election Bid

The AAP is widely seen as facing as stern test to win a third consecutive Assembly election, particularly after persistent attacks from the BJP (and on-paper allies Congress) over issues like the air quality crisis and the ‘sheeshmahal‘ controversy swirling around the ex-Chief Minister.

With input from PTI

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Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Thursday distributed appointment letters to 47 survivors of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

According to a statement, six additional appointment letters will be issued to successors of beneficiaries who have exceeded the age of service.

Speaking at an event to distribute the letters at the Tilak Vihar area of west Delhi, Mr Saxena announced that 437 pending applications for appointments are under verification. The revenue department will hold special camps to complete the formalities, he said.

1984 सिख विरोधी दंगों का दंश झेल रहे 47 पीड़ितों को, भर्ती योग्यता में छूट देने के बाद, आज नियुक्ति प्रस्ताव पत्र वितरित किए। साथ ही संबंधित विभाग को 437 अन्य आवेदनों के सत्यापन को जल्द से जल्द पूरा कर उन्हें नियुक्ति प्रस्ताव पत्र देने का आदेश दिया।

इन परिवारों के लिए यह केवल… pic.twitter.com/OouZInkpfK

— LG Delhi (@LtGovDelhi) November 21, 2024

Mr Saxena also directed officials to rename the ‘Widows’ Colony’ — which primarily houses riot victims — according to the suggestions of the local residents.

The move comes ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls and was welcomed by the BJP.

“Providing jobs to the 47 victims of the anti-Sikh riots in the city, and direction to rename the Vidhwa Colony is a reflection of the affection and bonding between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Sikh community,” Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said.

The government jobs for the survivors of the anti-Sikh riots have come after a wait of over four decades, with the Delhi LG last month relaxing qualifications for recruitment of victims of the 1984 riots, said a Raj Niwas statement.

“This decision, pending for decades due to procedural delays and insensitive red tape, has enabled a larger pool of candidates to secure employment, by becoming eligible for it,” the statement said.

Mr Saxena, in a post on X, said the jobs for the affected families will mark a new beginning for them and help them regain self-respect.

He said their pain of losing loved ones in the horrific riots could never be reduced but the wounds certainly can be healed with sympathy and compassion.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The tussle between the Centre and the Delhi government over not implementing Ayushman Bharat escalated on Wednesday with Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena hitting out at AAP chief and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, claiming that he had deprived people of the benefits of the healthcare scheme to prevent the “false model” promoted by him from getting “exposed”. 

In a lengthy post on X in Hindi, Mr Saxena said he does not pay attention to Mr Kejriwal’s baseless statements but was forced to do so this time because it concerned the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, which benefits crores of Indians. 

“You have kept lakhs of people of Delhi deprived of this scheme till now only because of the fear that its implementation may reveal the truth of the false health model being promoted by you and your habit of taking false credit for everything may get exposed,” Mr Saxena claimed, adding that Mr Kejriwal had opposed Ayushman Bharat because he wanted his name associated with it. 

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi had criticised the Delhi and West Bengal governments for failing to implement the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme out of “political interests”, the AAP chief had accused the PM of indulging in politics over public health. In a post on Tuesday, he had also questioned the benefits under the scheme, saying the Comptroller and Auditor General had found several irregularities, and claimed a similar initiative by the Delhi government had benefited lakhs of people. 

Continuing his scathing attack, Mr Saxena said the Delhi government’s health department had recommended implementing the Ayushman Bharat scheme in June 2018 and the then health minister had given permission for doing so. 

“After that, in August 2018, your government talked about naming the Ayushman Bharat scheme ‘Chief Minister Aam Aadmi Health Insurance Scheme Ayushman Bharat’. The Government of India, which bears most of the cost of this scheme, also agreed to your self-glorification by simply asking you to use your name after ‘Ayushman Bharat’,” the lieutenant governor wrote. 

He said that the implementation of the scheme was also announced in the Delhi Assembly in 2020-21 but Mr Kejriwal’s “hunger for publicity” has not allowed it to happen.

‘Web Of Illusion’

Strongly criticising the Delhi health model, Mr Saxena termed it a “web of illusion” created by Mr Kejriwal’s “propaganda machinery”.

“You have been suppressing the CAG reports of the health department for years. You do not allow these CAG reports to be presented in the Vidhan Sabha lest they expose your web of illusions. Perhaps Delhi would be the only example where the High Court orders the health minister to appear in person and asks him to make medicines available to the people. Perhaps Delhi is the only example where the honourable courts had to give orders to repair the CT scan machine in the biggest hospital of the Delhi government,” he said. 

The lieutenant governor also accused the Delhi government of not revising the “Essential Drug List” since 2013. 

“In the last 10 years, the people of Delhi have been very troubled by your hollow health model. I hope that you (Mr Kejriwal) will put politics aside, accept the truth and implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme for the people of Delhi as soon as possible. Since you are no longer the chief minister, you will probably not feel the need to name the Ayushman Bharat scheme after the chief minister,” Mr Saxena sneered. 

‘More Procedures Covered’

BJP’s IT Cell head Amit Malviya also took to X to “expose” Mr Kejriwal’s lies on Ayushman Bharat and the Delhi healthcare programme and said that while the former chief minister has claimed that there is no upper limit under the ‘Delhi Arogya Kosh’, the cap is actually Rs 5 lakh.

This post exposes Arvind Kejriwal’s lies on Ayushman Bharat and Delhi’s Healthcare Programme. Read.

Arvind Kejriwal has been refusing to implement the Ayushman Bharat Yojana in Delhi. He is citing the following reasons:

1. As per Arvind Kejriwal, Ayushman Bharat offers only a… https://t.co/Mf0mDDkwqM

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) October 30, 2024

Among other things, Mr Malviya also said that the Delhi scheme does not factor in people who are over the age of 70 and are not voters within the national capital and that the Ayushman Bharat covers many more procedures. 

AAP’s Take

Mr Kejriwal had said he had yet to meet a person who got treatment through the Ayushman Bharat scheme and claimed that, under the Delhi government’s initiative, each person in the city receives free medical treatment and the government bears the entire cost whether it’s a 5-rupee pill or treatment worth Rs 1 crore.

Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj also claimed that Ayushman Bharat is a “failed” scheme and said poor patients from states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan – where the scheme had been implemented – visited hospitals in the capital for surgeries.

“Delhi government hospitals provide free treatment unlike the paid treatment provided in BJP-ruled states. Delhi government health schemes are far more effective than Ayushman Bharat scheme,” he asserted.

New Delhi:

Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena on Sunday directed the divisional commissioner to submit a report on the incident at a coaching centre in Rajinder Nagar where three civil service aspirants were killed due to rain-induced flooding in the basement.

He said the incident points to “criminal neglect” and lack of “basic maintenance” by concerned agencies.

Mr Saxena said he is deeply anguished by the incident of death of the civil services aspirants. “That this should happen in the Capital of India is most unfortunate & unacceptable,” he said in a post on X.

“Reportedly 7 other citizens have died due to electrocution in the past few days. My deepest condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives. You are in my thoughts and prayers,” he said.

Mr Saxena said he has been keeping a close watch over the situation and has monitored the rescue operations by Delhi Police and the fire department personally.

“These incidents clearly points towards criminal neglect & failure of basic maintenance & administration by concerned agencies & departments,” he said in another post.

“Drainage in the city and related infrastructure, as also required efforts and endeavours to address these have apparently collapsed, Mr Saxena said.

He added that the incident is indicative of the “larger malaise of misgovernance that Delhi has been subjected to during the last decade or so”.

The role of coaching institutions and landlords in not ensuring basic safety of students, who pay hefty fees and rents, away from their homes needs to be looked into, the LG said.

“What has been happening is unpardonable and such issues can no more be glossed over. I have asked the Divisional Commissioner to submit a report, covering every aspect of the tragic incident by Tuesday,” he adde

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)