The AAP Government on Friday engaged the lieutenant-Governor (l-G) in an open confrontation by dubbing him a “Congress agent” and accusing him of working to prevent the Delhi Government's Jan lokpal Bill, under pressure from the Union Home Ministry.
Sources said the l-G is reportedly upset with Kejriwal's letter, which said, “Now it is for you to decide whether you will be able to stand up to the pressure or not. You are a genuine person. But I humbly want to suggest to you that you had taken an oath to protect the Constitution and not the interest of any party or the Home Ministry.” After his party colleague Ashutosh slammed Najeeb Jung over the Jan lokpal issue and termed him a Congress agent, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote a letter to Jung questioning the reason behind seeking the Solicitor-General's (S-G) opinion on the matter and urged him to be impartial.
Kejriwal was supposed to meet Jung on Friday but he cancelled the meeting after the S-G's opinion was leaked to the media. Putting the l-G in the dock, Kejriwal asked: “What prompted Jung to seek the opinion of S-G Mohan Parasaran, when he has not sent the copy of the Bill to himIJ” Kejriwal maintained that Delhi Assembly's powers have been defined in the Constitution and questioned whether the MHA can put reins on that power.
The law officer had conveyed to Jung that it would be illegal if prior consent was not taken from the Centre. Kejriwal questioned how the l-G sought comments from Parasaran on the Bill that was sent to him on Thursday evening and how the news of the law officer's objections to it was leaked soon after. “If you had to seek an opinion you could have discussed it with me and I would have explained the details. Instead the S-G's opinion was sought and leaked directly to the media,” Kejriwal fumed.
“I was surprised to hear the S-G's opinion on television last night. On which Bill did you seek his opinion as we had sent the draft of the Jan lokpal Bill to you in the evening and on which Bill did he give you an opinionIJ” he asked. Kejriwal told Jung that he knew there was a “lot of pressure” on him from the Congress and Home Ministry on the issue and it would increase in coming days as they would like to prevent the holding of the Assembly session at a public venue for enactment of the Jan lokpal Bill.
On Parasaran's view that it was necessary to get approval from the Centre before tabling the Bill in the Assembly, Kejriwal said nowhere in the Constitution is it written that the Centre's consent was required. Kejriwal claimed that AAP had sought the opinion of four legal experts including retired Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Mukul Mudgal, Pinaki Misra, KN Bhatt and PV Kapoor, who say this is not the case.
He also did not accept the view that the Jan lokpal would be repugnant to the central law — the lokpal and lokayukta Act. “If Delhi Government has to take the Centre's permission before enactment of any law then what was the need to hold electionsIJ” he questioned. Kejriwal began his letter by saying that he had always respected Jung but the incidents of the last few days had caused him 'great pain', and apologised for saying anything that might seem offensive.
Kejriwal also said that pressure would be mounted on him to ensure that the Bill is not tabled in the Assembly because “they know that if the Bill is passed, then many among them will go to jail”. The Chief Minister said: “They (Congress), through your office, would resort to selective leaks to defame me and my Government”. Kejriwal has repeatedly accused the Union Government of shielding corrupt Ministers. The lokpal law passed recently by Parliament is so ineffectual that “even a mouse will not be imprisoned” he said, vowing that his version will be far more strident. It offers a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for Government officers found guilty of graft.