New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and environment minister Gopal Rai decided to skip a ‘Vanmahotsav’ plantation drive at the Asola Wildlife Sanctuary on Sunday, July 24 after the latter alleged that the Delhi police ‘forcibly’ put up posters of Prime Minister at the venue on the night prior.The event was supposed to be attended by Kerjiwal, Rai and newly-appointed Delhi lieutenant-governor (L-G) V.K. Saxena. However, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged, in a tweet, that the police replaced the original banner at the event – which carried Kejriwal and Saxena’s faces – with one which also showed Prime Minister Modi, and threatened to arrest anyone who tried to take them down.Delhi Govt के वन महोत्सव में CM @ArvindKejriwal को शामिल होना थालेकिन प्रधानमंत्री कार्यलय के आदेश पर Police ने मंच पर कब्ज़ा कर ज़बरदस्ती Modi जी की तस्वीर लगा दी और हटाने पर गिरफ़्तारी की धमकी दीमोदी जी दिल्ली Govt के कायर्क्रम में अपनी तस्वीर लगाकर क्या साबित करना चाहते? pic.twitter.com/B3Hdo5KCLr— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) July 24, 2022According to a report by the Indian Express, Rai, addressing a press conference, said that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) “hijacked” and “politicised” the event by having the police cover the original LED screen displaying the original poster with a printed poster with Modi’s face on it.“People were told that if it is removed, action would be taken against them. As per the programme, the banner would be flashed on an LED screen and awareness programmes for children would be played following that. But a banner was placed on the LED. This is unfathomable,” the Express quoted Rai as saying.While official’s from the L-G’s office reportedly said that the designs for the banner had been sent to the state government on Thursday, July 21, a Delhi government official said that while this was, indeed the case, these designs did not include the photo of the Prime Minister.The L-G is appointed by the Union government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).Responding to the incident, a source in the L-G’s office, according to a report by NDTV, said that while the L-G and the chief minister were supposed to launch the plantation event together, “ One is left to wonder if recommending a CBI inquiry into an apparently illegal Excise Policy is taking the focus of the CM away from Delhi’s environmental concerns.”The source’s remarks are a reference to L-G Saxena’s recommendations on Friday calling for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22The allegations had drawn Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, in charge of the Delhi government’s excise department, into the line of fire as he was accused of favouritism in allocating licences to liquor vendors in return for “kickbacks”, which were allegedly used in AAP’s campaign for the Punjab assembly elections earlier this year.The Delhi government’s new excise policy had overhauled the liquor business in the capital, seeing only private liquor vendors do business after it was implemented in November last year.Sisodia denied the allegations against him, as did Kejriwal, who called the allegations false and said that AAP leaders were “not afraid of jail”.मोदीजी केजरीवाल जी से बहुत डरते हैं। मोदीजी से लोगों का मोहभंग हो गया है।अब केजरीवाल जी से ही देश को उम्मीद है। जैसे जैसे “आप” का देश भर में प्रभाव बढ़ेगा, अभी और बहुत झूठे केस होंगे। पर अब कोई जेल केजरीवाल जी और “आप” को नहीं रोक सकतीभविष्य “आप” का है, भविष्य भारत का है— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) July 22, 2022The present incident is only the latest flashpoint between the L-G and the Delhi government since the former’s appointment in May.Also read: Lok Sabha Passes Bill Establishing Total Power of LG, Centre Over Delhi GovernmentOn July 18, Kejriwal alleged “political reasons” behind the delay in the Union government granting him permission to travel to Singapore and attend the ‘World Cities Summit’ in August this year.Files seeking permission for official foreign visits are sent to the L-G for approval, also requiring a nod from the Ministry of External Affairs. The AAP claimed that the files were sent to the L-G’s office on June 7.