Arvind Kejriwal vs Delhi L-G: VK Saxena to take legal action against AAP leaders for false graft charges against him

The Aam Aadmi Party MLAs have claimed that Delhi LG VK Saxena had pressured his employees to exchange demonetised notes worth Rs 1,400 crore in 2016 when he was KVIC's chairman.

Aam Aadmi Party MLAs holding placards raise slogans during a protest demanding resignation of Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena

New Delhi: Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena will take legal action against Arvind Kejriwal's AAP leaders, including Atishi, Saurabh Bhardwaj, and Durgesh Pathak, for "false" corruption charges against him, news agency PTI reported on Wednesday (August 31, 2022) citing officials.

Saxena has reportedly refuted the AAP leaders' charge of Rs 1,400-crore corruption when he was chairman of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) as a "figment of their imagination".

Legal action will also be taken against Jasmine Shah who is the vice chairman of the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi, PTI reported.

Earlier on Monday, Aam Aadmi Party MLA Durgesh Pathak claimed in the Delhi Assembly that Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena had pressured his employees to exchange demonetised notes worth Rs 1,400 crore in 2016 when he was KVIC's chairman.

During the House proceedings on Monday, the AAP legislators also trooped to the Well, alleging that the "scam" was worth Rs 1,400 crore and demanding Saxena's resignation, besides a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The development came days after Saxena recommended a CBI probe into alleged corruption in the implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 and the AAP's accusations that he was "interfering" in the city government's work.

Meanwhile, the CBI said that it has not found the role of any individual other than the two accused cashiers of Khadi Gram Udyog Bhavan, who had allegedly converted Rs 17 lakh of old currency to new notes after demonetisation. The central agency had already filed a chargesheet against head cashiers Sanjeev Malik and Pradeep Kumar Yadav in December 2017, after conducting a thorough investigation into the matter, officials said.

The CBI has said the trial is going on in the case.

(With agency inputs)