Arvind Kejriwal cancels meetings on slum rehabilitation, odd-even policy due to CBI raid

New Delhi: Cabinet meeting, several important meetings on odd-even formula and rehabilitation of JJ dwellers slated for Tuesday were cancelled and no officers and staff were allowed on the third floor at Delhi Secretariat as CBI raided CM Arvind Kejriwal’s principal secretary office in a corruption case. “Chief Minister today (Tuesday) cancelled Cabinet meeting and a board meeting of Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) on rehabilitation of dwellers which were to be held at Delhi Secretariat due to CBI’s raids,” said a senior government official. Apart from that, meetings on odd-even scheme to be implemented from 1 January, 2016, could not be held, the official said. [caption id=“attachment_2459352” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. AFP[/caption] Police personnel were deployed in large numbers and barricades erected outside Delhi Secretariat to prevent any protests. Out of the six Cabinet ministers in the Arvind Kejriwal government, only three — Transport Minister Gopal Rai, Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra and Social Welfare minister Sandeep Kumar — came to the Secretariat, but left after a few hours. According to officials, as CBI officials raided the office of Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar around 9:25 am, entry of officials and staff were banned on third floor from where Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal runs his government. “When CBI officials raided Kumar’s office in the morning, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was not at the Delhi Secretariat at that time. There were only around five or seven officials working in the CM office. “The central probe agency did not allow them to go down and made them sit till late evening,” a senior official said. Throughout the day, media was not allowed to enter the Secretariat. When asked about it, police officials deployed at entry gates said that Chief Secretary KK Sharma has issued directions not to allow media persons inside. Attendance of government employees in the Secretariat today was less compared to normal days. Sharma and Finance Secretary SN Sahai left Secretariat around 1 pm and thereafter, other senior officials started leaving the office. Earlier in the day, Kejriwal accused the Modi government of resorting to vendetta politics and came down heavily on the CBI for the raids at Players Building, which is home to the offices of the Delhi Secretariat in central Delhi. A CBI spokesperson, however, said the searches were conducted at the office of the Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar. Searches were conducted at 14 locations, the spokesperson said, but did not give details. PTI