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CM asked to call session "These reports are the touchstone of transparency in governance... By not laying the CAG reports promptly before the assembly, the govt has failed to discharge its constitutional obligation and has deprived members of assembly from discharging its core duty..." - V.K. Saxena, Lieutenant Governor WHAT EXPERTS SAY

- HT Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Lieutenant governor (LG) V.K. Saxena on Monday informed the Delhi high court that all 14 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports have been approved and forwarded to chief minister Atishi's office, and urged her to convene a special session of the Delhi legislative assembly to table the reports "immediately".

Experts, however, noted that the LG's directions are not binding, and the cabinet, led by the chief minister, can choose whether or not to call an assembly session. To be sure, the Delhi government on December 2 submitted an undertaking to the high court affirming that it would call another session of the Delhi legislative assembly before its dissolution in February.

Officials from the LG's office said that the session was not yet prorogued. "The LG has stressed that the session be convened without any further loss of time to ensure adherence to the constitutional mandate. The session of the Delhi assembly has not yet been prorogued," said the official asking not to be named.

The LG's submission in the high court was in a plea filed by seven Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs seeking directions to forward the CAG reports to the LG for tabling before the assembly. On Monday, a bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula said that the grievance raised by the MLAs stood redressed and closed the plea. "In light of the above, the grievance raised before the court for directing mandamus to respondent number 2 (finance minister), stands redressed. In view of the above the present proceedings stand closed," the court said in its order.

The matter at the heart of the issue is a set of 14 CAG reports that cover key issues, including Delhi's liquor policy, vehicular pollution, public health, and the performance of government departments from 2017-18 to 2020-21. The issue became a flashpoint during the assembly session in early December, where BJP legislators demanded that the reports be tabled.