While Criticizing Media, The Aam Aadmi Party [AAP]Denied Allegations Of scrapping the M L A Local Area Development Fund In Delhi And Called It factually incorrect and misleading story This Story Was Carried in a section of the media on Friday (February21) In Which It Was Alleged That Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP government in Delhi had scrapped the MLA Local Area Development Fund and it has now been restored by the hon’ble Lieutenant Governor.
National Convener Arvind Kejriwal said The AAP would like to set the record straight in this matter. The fact is that MLAs of the outgoing assembly had been provided the entire sum of Rs four crore per MLA per annum for the current financial year before the assembly was dissolved for the December 4 elections.
After the AAP government was formed on December 28, 2013, it proposed an additional provision of Rs 30 lakh per MLA as the MLA development fund for the last few months of this financial year and had not scrapped the much talked about fund.
Therefore, the news reports have missed out crucial facts on this issue. The AAP has a considered and well thought opinion about the MLAs local area fund, but despite this stand its government did not take any decision on the issue in haste.
The AAP has a principled position about the MLA Local Area Development Fund and is of the firm opinion that this fund, apart from the opaque and arbitrary manner in which it was being used, had also confined the MLAs performance to merely the way this fund was utilized. Elected representatives, particularly MLAs and MPs have a wide range of functions and cannot merely be judged on the basis of how the local area fund was utilised.