BJP demands Sheila`s resignation after Lokayukta charge

The Bharatiya Janata Party`s Delhi unit staged a sit-in protest near Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit`s official residence, demanding her resignation.

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party`s (BJP) Delhi unit on Friday staged a sit-in protest near Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit`s official residence here, demanding her resignation over alleged misuse of public money for "political purposes" ahead of the 2008 Assembly polls.

Led by unit chief Vijay Goel and former chief Vijender Gupta, over 100 BJP workers, including party legislators, shouted slogans against Dikshit, whom they accused of resorting to "propaganda" to win three successive elections. "This is the first time in the history of India that a Lokayukta has indicted a Chief Minister for misusing public funds. We demand that she reimburses Rs 11 crore, which she used for personal gain, to the government," said Gupta. He was referring to a report of Delhi Lokayukta Manmohan Sarin, who indicted Dikshit for misusing public funds for "political purpose" by carrying out advertisements ahead of the 2008 Assembly Elections. Terming it a "criminal breach of trust", Gupta said: "We will get an FIR (First Information Report with police) lodged against her. We will make sure that she is sent to jail." Goel said the movement against the Dikshit-led Congress government in Delhi will not die down and would be on for the next five months. Delhi is set for Assembly Elections in November 2013. "We will go to meet President Pranab Mukherjee and demand that either Dikshit reimburses the money or resigns. If the president does not meet us, we will hold a march," Goel said. The party also attacked Dikshit for "insulting" the institution of Lokayukta. "Not once, but many times Lokayukta has held Dikshit guilty for various charges but nothing has been done. It is an insult to the institution of Lokayukta." The protestors attacked Dikshit on a host of issues which ranged from alleged corruption in the Commonwealth Games to inflated power and water bills. Addressing the gathering, Goel said that the party launch a "door to door" campaign where it will tell people about the wrongdoings of the Dikshit government. IANS