The Budget was to be introduced at 11 am Tuesday by newly appointed finance minister Kailash Gahlot, who tabled the financial survey and final result price range on Monday.

Kejriwal’s feedback sparked a warfare of allegations between the Delhi authorities, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Lieutenant-Governor’s workplace.

“You will be shocked. This has never happened before in the history of the country. The Delhi Budget has to be presented in the Delhi Assembly tomorrow morning. The Centre has stopped the Delhi Budget from being presented. The Budget will not come tomorrow morning. Delhi government employees will not get paid, doctors, teachers will not be paid,” Kejriwal mentioned at an occasion organised by News 18 India.

As per guidelines, the annual monetary assertion is distributed to the L-G for his assent and feedback. It is then despatched to the Ministry of Home Affairs by the Chief Minister for clearance. The ministry then sends it to the President for approval, after which the Budget might be tabled by the Delhi authorities.

According to officers at L-G workplace, he permitted the annual monetary assertion with sure observations on March 9, and despatched the file to the CM.

The MHA, in an official assertion, mentioned that the L-G had raised “certain concerns of administrative nature on the proposed Budget, keeping in view the fiscal interest of the National Capital Territory on which MHA… has requested GNCTD to resubmit the Budget addressing these concerns for taking further action. The reply from GNCTD is awaited for the last four days. For the benefit of the people of Delhi, the GNCTD should submit a reply immediately.”

Gahlot, nevertheless, mentioned the Chief Secretary had not communicated the MHA’s considerations in time. In a press release, he mentioned: “The budget was sent for MHA’s approval as per regular practice well in advance on March 10. It is now learnt that the MHA expressed some concerns on Delhi government’s budget and refused to give it approval, through a letter sent to the Chief Secretary on March 17. For mysterious reasons, the Chief Secretary of Delhi kept the letter hidden for three days. I learned about the letter only at 2 pm today (Monday). The file with MHA’s letter was put up to me officially only at 6 pm, just the day before the budget was to be presented in the Delhi Assembly. Subsequently, we have responded to MHA’s concerns and submitted the file back to Delhi’s LG, after CM’s approval, at 9 pm today. The role of the Chief Secretary and Finance Secretary of Delhi in delaying Delhi’s budget ought to be investigated.”

According to sources, the L-G had noticed that efficient expenditure on capital parts (comparable to infrastructure tasks) was round 20% of the full price range and that this didn’t appear “sufficient”. Sources mentioned he additionally noticed that allocation to the Directorate of Information & Publicity was larger than final yr, which “seems incomprehensible and unjustifiable”. The division is answerable for the Delhi authorities’s commercials and publicity – a problem that the BJP has regularly attacked the AAP over.

Senior AAP authorities officers mentioned that even when an approval is obtained by the MHA on Tuesday, the price range is unlikely to be tabled.

Delhi Assembly Speaker R N Goel, in the meantime, mentioned the tabling of the Budget stays within the record of enterprise for Tuesday morning. “That will remain as is. If the Budget is not being tabled, the Finance Minister will make a statement. Let’s see what happens,” he mentioned.

The Delhi price range has remained in information ever since former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia’s arrest. Sisodia, who was additionally the finance minister, has tabled each single price range because the AAP got here to energy, and was additionally concerned in framing this yr’s doc earlier than his arrest.