New Delhi: Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi on Sunday targeted the AAP government saying it 'falsely' took credit for the beautification of the city ahead of the G20 Summit. She also slammed AAP for targeting LG over 'shivling-shaped' fountains put up in some areas, saying that AAP doesn't understand "Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma."
"These people were claiming that they were the people who beautified cities. That was supposedly their job because they had been in power for nine years in Delhi. But in nine years, we did not see any progress," she said while speaking to news agency ANI.
"The people from this very party started to claim that LG doesn't know how to respect Hindu Dharma. They started blaming the LG for putting up 'shivling-shaped' fountains. They do not understand Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma because simply cutting a stone or rock into a certain shape does not become a 'shivling'...A piece becomes a 'shivling' by concentration. But to even blame the LG they blurted out the truth. They blamed the LG and said that they would lodge an FIR. The truth came out that means every work was done by LG not them," she said.
The union minister further said that the work in the city had been done by the central government, which she said spent nearly Rs 4,000 crores. Lekhi's response comes just a day after AAP minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said that under Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership, all main roads of Delhi had been decorated, roads had been resurfaced, and beautification had been done.
"All the flyovers and huge walls have been decorated with designs that represent our culture. Delhi health department’s doctors would be deployed at hospitals and hotels where the guests would stay. Ambulances with advanced life support will run with all the carcades. All historical places have been decorated. Delhi and its government are prepared to welcome the guests at the G20," he said while speaking on the preparations in the city ahead of the mega two-day summit.
However, Meenakshi Lekhi today claimed that in the last nine years of the AAP rule, not one flyover was completed by the Delhi government.
The 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi on September 9 and 10 will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.
India holds the Presidency of the G20 from 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023.
The Group of Twenty (G20) comprises 19 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States) and the European Union. The G20 members represent around 85 per cent of the global GDP, over 75 per cent of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.