"You cannot cheat continuously every time": Meenakshi Lekhi accuses AAP of "vicious politics" over inflated water bill

New Delhi [India], February 25 : Accusing AAP Government of playing "vicious politics" against citizens of Delhi Union Minister Meenakashi Lekhi on Sunday warned them that they "cannot cheat continuously every time" over the issue of inflated water bill.
"It is not possible you deceive a person once and then you can deceive him a second time, but you cannot cheat continuously every time. The Jal Board was directly related to the Chief Minister, now after continuously committing the scam he handed it over to his other ministers... On one side there is the Prime Minister, on the other side they are not able to give water to the people of Delhi..," said Lekhi.
She strongly condemned Arvind Kejriwal over allegations of scams within the Jal Board and alleged that the AAP government is staging a Dharna against its own officials.
"If you are sitting on a dharna against your own Jal Board officials after removing them, then this is a vicious type of politics and you think that you will be able to deceive everyone again and again," said the Union Minister.
Responding to Kejriwal's statement of getting a 'noble prize' for working under the difficult circumstances in Delhi, Lekhi said, "The Nobel Prize is not given to a thief and those who have committed scams in the Jal Board should pay people's attention to the Jal Board scam."
Meanwhile, AAP trained guns at the Bhartiya Janata party for not approving the 'one-time settlement' scheme brought by the Delhi government to address the problem of inflated water bills in the national capital, accusing them of playing "negative politics."
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday accused the BJP and Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena of barring officers from implementing the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) scheme by threatening them with suspension.
AAP accused BJP of obstructing the proposed 'one-time settlement' scheme which is aimed at correcting inflated water bills in order to end the woes of people.
Addressing a gathering in the national capital on Sunday, the AAP national convenor said, "The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has already cleared this settlement scheme. It is now pending clearance by the Cabinet. However, the BJP has asked the Delhi L-G to stop this scheme. The officers are being barred and threatened with suspension. They are crying. When Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi called the officers to ask why they were not bringing the Bill (for clearance by the Cabinet), they said they were threatened with suspension if the Bill was brought to the Cabinet for clearance. Not content with putting Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain in jail, they are now bent on filing false cases against my offices through the ED and CBI," the CM said at the gathering on Sunday.
Kejriwal earlier claimed that fake readings were taken during the COVID 19 period, resulting in inflated charges for around 11 lakh families across Delhi.
In June 2023, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced the 'One Time Settlement Scheme' for pending water bills of consumers in the national capital.
With approximately 27.6 lakh consumers in Delhi, 11.7 lakh consumers have been burdened with outstanding dues amounting to a total of Rs 5,737 crore, according to a statement from the CMO.