Amid the ongoing tussle between the Delhi Government and Raj Niwas, President Droupadi Murmu has delegated two more powers to Lieutenant-Governor VK Saxena under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. It is directed that the L-G will exercise the powers and discharge the functions of the appropriate Government or State Government under these rules until further order, mention two separate notifications issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on January 16.
The move will further escalate the tensions between Saxena and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The recent flashpoint between Kejriwal and Saxena was triggered ahead of the January 24 election of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the MCD. The AAP has accused the L-G of issuing orders on “practically everything” and bypassing the elected Government.
As per the notifications, administrators and the L-Gs of five other Union Territories, including Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Chandigarh, Puducherry and Lakshadweep, were also delegated similar powers by Murmu.
“In pursuance of clause (1) of Article 239 of the Constitution, the President hereby directs that the administrator or L-G of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Chandigarh, Puducherry and Lakshadweep shall, subject to the control of the President and until further order, exercise the powers and discharge the functions of the appropriate Government or State Government under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (35 of 2020), to formulate the rules only in the areas where the Union territory of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Chandigarh, Puducherry and Lakshadweep are required to formulate rules either as appropriate Government or State Government,” states one of the notifications.
Under Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the appropriate Government may exempt any new industrial establishment or class of establishments from the provisions of the Code in the public interest.
Another notification mentions regarding delegation of powers of State Government and appropriate Government under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 to the administrator and L-G of these six UTs.
“In pursuance of clause (1) of article 239 of the Constitution, the President hereby directs that the administrator or Lieutenant Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Chandigarh, Puducherry and Lakshadweep shall, subject to the control of the President and until further order, exercise the powers and discharge the functions of the appropriate Government or State Government under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (37 of 2020),” said the notification.
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