BJP leader demands criminal inquiry against Delhi CM

New Delhi, May 11 (UNI) BJP leader Vijender Gupta today demanded that a criminal case be registered against Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for alleged misuse of public funds during a year before the Assembly Elections.

The demand comes a day before Lokayukta, Justice Manmohan Sarin, hears arguments in the concerned case tomorrow.

An inquiry was ordered in October last year into allegations of the BJP leader that she spent public money for ''personal image-building'' ahead of 2008-09
Assembly Elections.

Mr Gupta informed mediapersons that in an answer to RTI filed against Information and Publicity Department, ''it has been discovered that almost Rs 30 crore were
blatantly spent on advertisements in the year leading up to Legislative Assembly Elections.''

He referred to a reply given by present Director of Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Ms Alka Diwan, regarding details of the expenditure done by the Delhi Government to set up hoardings during the period 2005-2006 and 2008-2009.

''According to the statement given by her, no hoardings were put up by the city government during 2005-2006. Only four were put up between the years 2006-2007. However, during the election year 2007-2008 and 2008-2009, around 2100 hoardings were erected,'' Mr Gupta said.

The former Standing Committee Chairman added that as per Ms Diwan's statement, ''no funds were spent on hoardings in 2005-2006. On the other hand, in the election
year 2008, Rs 11 crore were spent on hoardings as against Rs 61,475 in year 2006-2007.''

With these allegations, he demanded that a criminal case be registered against Ms Dikshit, under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, for alleged misuse of public funds, during a year before the Assembly Elections.

The BJP leader also showed an article published in a Hindi daily and written by the then Director of Information and Publicity Department Uday Sahay in which he had
explained the Ministry's plan to set up the advertisements.

Mr Gupta stated that as per Mr Sahay's article, ''required evidence has been gathered causing ascertainment of the fact that public funds have been abused and misused by the Chief Minister to lure voters as well as to fuel her political aspirations.''

Shortage of Ayurvedic medicines creates uproar in MCD

New Delhi, Mar 17 (UNI) The issue of shortage of Ayurvedic medicines in city hospitals and dispensaries created uproar in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's Standing Committee meeting today.

Shouting slogans against Bhartiya Janata Party, Congress leaders claimed that BJP-run state governments had only been focussing on promoting allopathic medicines.

''A major scam in the case of purchase of Ayurvedic medicines had come to light in July 2008 according to which the BJP had reduced to half the budget for the same, along with holding the purchase of some,'' Leader of Opposition in the MCD Jai Kishan Sharma alleged.

He mentioned that there were two Ayurvedic hospitals, five Panchkarma hospitals and 107 Ayurvedic dispensaries in the city.

''Though, these centres have a huge army of doctors and other workers, who get appraisal annually, there are not enough medicines to treat the patients,'' he said.
He added that this year, medicines of Rs 75 lakh have been purchased and the House granted Rs 174 lakh yesterday to purchase more.

''The amount is still not enough to overcome the shortage,'' he said.

When the Congress leaders came to the Well of the House and started agitating, the matter was postponed till next week.