AAP drew parallels to the fictional village of 'Phulera' in the web series 'Panchayat'.
- Rekha Gupta's husband attended a government meeting reviewing development projects with her, sparking row
- Opposition criticised Ms Gupta for allowing her husband in official meeting, calling it unconstitutional
- BJP defended Manish Gupta as a social worker representing local residents in the meeting
A fresh political row erupted in Delhi after Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's husband, Manish Gupta - a businessman and a social worker - was seen sitting in a government meeting with her. The meeting was called on Sunday to review the development projects in the Shalimar Bagh Assembly constituency, during which Ms Gupta directed officials to "regularly assess the progress of ongoing works in the area and submit detailed status reports within the stipulated timeframe".
Ms Gupta shared the details of the meeting along with the pictures in which her husband, wearing a yellow shirt, was seen sitting next to her. This drew the attention of the Opposition leaders, with the Aam Aadmi Party's in-charge, Saurabh Bharadwaj, questioning why Ms Gupta allowed her husband to sit in an official meeting when he is not a part of the Delhi government and calling the move "unconstitutional".
Mr Bharadwaj also drew parallels to the fictional village of 'Phulera' in the web series 'Panchayat' in which the husband of a woman leader exercised authority informally.
"Delhi Government becomes Phulera panchayat. Just as in Phulera's panchayat, where the woman sarpanch's husband acted as the sarpanch, today in Delhi, the CM's husband is sitting in official meetings. This is completely unconstitutional. In the nation's capital, democracy and the constitutional system are being mocked in this manner," he wrote in a post on X.
The AAP leader further questioned the BJP, which he said had criticised Congress for its dynasty politics, whether Ms Gupta's actions also constitute the same.
"Is this not dynastic politics? Does the Chief Minister of the world's largest party have no worker left whom she can trust? What is that work which only a family member can do? What are the reasons that the Chief Minister wants to establish her husband's authority? Why is her husband being made a part of the government administrative system in this way?" he questioned.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh also took a dig at Ms Gupta, saying PM Modi has appointed "two Chief Ministers" in Delhi.
"Welcome to Phulera Panchayat. PM Modi has made two CMs in Delhi. Rekha Gupta is the Chief Minister, her husband is the Super Chief Minister. BJP has wrecked Delhi in 6 months," he said.
The Congress also questioned whether Ms Gupta is running the Delhi government or her husband.
BJP responds
The BJP, however, in response to the political row, said that there is "nothing wrong" in Ms Gupta's husband sitting in the government meeting.
"First of all, Manish Gupta is not only the husband of Rekha Gupta, but he was also looking after the constituencies of Shalimar Bagh. He was looking after it as a social worker. He led the people's delegation. As a representative, he can sit there. The meeting was not just for officers. A few residents were also sitting there," Delhi BJP leader, Harish Khurana, told NDTV.
The BJP leader also slammed the AAP, which previously led the Delhi government, saying they are "frustrated".
"AAP is frustrated. It was for only one constituency. The Chief Minister and her husband live there, so what's wrong with him attending the meeting?" he said.
BJP's IT Cell Head Amit Malviya also defended Ms Gupta, asking the Opposition to "stop targetting" her "just because she is a woman". He also slammed the AAP, saying they should "find something more substantive" to target the Delhi Chief Minister.
"The Aam Aadmi Party should find something more substantive to target Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. She was holding a review meeting of her constituency, which is managed by her husband - just as Sheila Dikshit's constituency was managed by her sister Rama Dhawan, and Sunita Kejriwal used to look after Arvind Kejriwal's. Unlike Sunita Kejriwal, however, the CM's husband was not sitting on her chair or issuing illegal orders that senior officers were forced to record on file as "CM Madam has directed." Stop targeting Rekha Gupta just because she is a woman who is doing a good job and making Arvind Kejriwal look more ordinary with each passing day," he said.
A similar row had erupted in April this year when Manish Gupta was seen presiding over a government meeting involving officers from the municipal corporation, Delhi Jal Board, and Public Works Department - with Ms Gupta not visible in the room. AAP leader Atishi had accused Ms Gupta's husband of unofficially running the Delhi government. She also compared the situation to what is often seen in villages.
"Earlier, we used to hear that if a woman Sarpanch was elected in the village, then all the government work would be handled by her husband. But this must be the first time in the history of the country that a woman has become the Chief Minister and all the government work is being handled by her husband," she said.
BJP leader Virendra Sachdeva had defended Ms Gupta, saying it was "perfectly normal" for family members to attend meetings and support public representatives.
