Delhi government increases mobile phone allowance; makes it Rs 1.5 lakh for CM and Rs 1.25 lakh for ministers

The ruling BJP and opposition AAP indulged in a war of words over enhanced reimbursements of the Delhi government for mobile phones of the chief minister and the ministers. The Delhi Government has increased budget for mobile phones. As per a office memo, issued on July 9, the General Administration Department (GAD) of Delhi government has revised ceilings for the cost of mobile handsets and monthly charges payable to service providers.The ceiling has reportedly been increased after 12 years. Officials said that the reimbursement amounts for the mobile phone sets were revised in 2013. The upper ceiling of mobile phones since then was around Rs 45-50,000.As per the new memo, the upper limit of mobile handset price for the chief minister has been set to Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 1.25 lakh for the ministers. The monthly call charges are fixed as per the actual bills. The memo added that the mobile handset will not ordinarily be replaced within a period of two years from the date of its purchase. However, if at any point in time, the probable cost of repairs exceeds 50 per cent of the total initial cost of the mobile set, replacement will be allowed on a case-by-case basis.

War of words between AAP and BJP

The increase in

mobile phone reimbursement

has resulted in war of words between members of the ruling BJP and opposition AAP. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj took a dig at the BJP government and congratulated the chief minister and the ministers. In a press conference, AAP MLA Anil Jha accused the BJP of being "anti-poor" and celebrating by gifting expensive mobile phones to the minister.Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor hit back at AAP, saying that even MCD councillors and MLAs use high-end phones because they use them for storing records and doing official work.