New Delhi: After the Delhi high court took cognisance of the death of two people during cleaning of a sewer in the city, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) targeted lieutenant governor (L-G) V.K. Saxena, saying the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which comes under him, is responsible for the tragic incident.The Delhi L-G cannot “enjoy power without accountability,” AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said in a statement on September 12, reacting to the court’s order.There was no immediate reaction either from the L-G office or the DDA to the AAP’s charge.A sweeper and a security guard died on September 9 in Outer Delhi’s Mundka area after they inhaled toxic gases inside a sewer they had gone down to clean, police had said.Taking suo motu cognisance of the incident, a high court bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad directed registering a public interest litigation and issued a notice to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi government and Delhi Jal Board (DJB) in the matter on the basis of a news report dated September 11.The court also appointed senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao as the amicus curiae (friend of the court) to assist it.Also read: Sewer Deaths: Only About 50% of Victims’ Families Received Rs 10 Lakh Compensation“I thank Delhi high court’s Chief Justice Satish Sharma for taking suo motu cognisance of the case and asking how the incident happened when manual scavenging is banned in Delhi,” Bharadwaj, who is also the DJB vice-president, said.“The DDA, which comes directly under the L-G, is responsible for these two deaths… The L-G can not enjoy power without accountability,” he added.Bharadwaj claimed it’s clear that “the department in question” was evading the issue and not owning up to its “grave crime” as in this case, right from the sewer line and its sewerage to the pumping station, the DDA had complete control over the operations.The DJB vice-president said he took cognisance of the incident and sought a report from his office soon after he read about it in the newspapers.“We waited for the L-G office to step up and accept their responsibility but the dead silence that they maintained, besides the evasiveness of the BJP leaders, is shameful,” he said, referring to Saxena.The AAP leader also alleged that the L-G office went on “extreme lengths” to misguide the high court as well in the matter.“The central government’s lawyer did not submit in the court that DDA is at fault, instead got the court to issue notices to the Delhi government, MCD and Delhi Jal Board,” he said.Also read: Three Men Died Cleaning Septic Tanks. Their Widows Ensured Maharashtra Gave CompensationThe Delhi government’s lawyers will “certainly” submit “a complete report” to the court but the Delhi L-G must understand that power always comes with accountability, Bharadwaj said, adding “L-G can’t run away like this”.“Why did not L-G meet the victims’ families, offer his regret or condolence? Why did not the L-G chart out the corrective measures taken in DDA to avoid such an incident again?” he asked.“This system can not work with a power-corrupted head without any accountability,” he added.(PTI)