The weekly meeting between Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal could not take place on Friday as the two sides were engaged in a tussle over governance-related issues. Sources at the LG's office said Kejriwal did not turn up at the Raj Niwas for the meeting scheduled at 4 pm and no reason was given by his office in this regard.
An official at the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) confirmed that the meeting did not take place, without giving any reason for it. With the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Kejriwal, slamming Saxena over a range of issues, including a proposal to send school teachers for training to Finland, the weekly meetings between the two constitutional functionaries have not been taking place for several weeks.
Accompanied by his deputy Manish Sisodia and other AAP MLAs, Kejriwal had marched to the Raj Niwas last month and sought a meeting with the LG, alleging that his government's proposal to send teachers to Finland was not approved by Saxena.
The LG had invited Kejriwal and Sisodia for a meeting with him, but the chief minister turned down the offer, insisting to take other AAP MLAs along with him. In a letter to Saxena, Kejriwal had suggested a meeting with him and was asked to bring 10 of his MLAs and the deputy chief minister last week.
However, Kejriwal excused himself from the meeting with the LG, saying he was scheduled to inaugurate mohalla clinics in Punjab. The last meeting between the chief minister and the LG took place on January 13.
