lIn the aftermath of the Supreme Court's constitution Bench's decision vis-à-vis the distribution of power between the Delhi Government and the lieutenant-Governor (l-G), Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia met l-G Anil Baijal on Friday at Raj Niwas to discuss the way forward after the Supreme Court verdict. This would be their first meeting since the verdict.
However, the meeting failed to resolve the already stressed ties between the ruling AAP and Anil Baijal.
It wass strained further after Kejriwal and Sisodia met him seeking his cooperation in Delhi's development and good governance. The meeting was held in the light of a fresh impasse with the bureaucrats over the control of services department.
Secretary Services had refused to comply with the orders of the deputy chief minister about the new transfer policy approved by the chief minister. The bureaucrats contended that the apex court has not cancelled the Centre's order that brought services under the control of the l-G. Citing the court order, which stated the l-G has control only over land, police and public order, the Chief Minister has warned that anyone violating it will stand in contempt of court.
"Met Hon'ble CM @ArvindKejriwal & Hon'ble Dy. CM @msisodia. Assured them of my continued support & cooperation in the interest of good governance & overall development of Delhi as per the letter and spirit of Constitution", Baijal tweeted after the meeting.
An official said l-G agreed to the meeting after the CM wrote a letter to him seeking his support. Kejrwal had contended that the Supreme Court had ruled that the elected government did not need his 'concurrence'. In a terse letter to Baijal, Kejrwal had suggested they sit face to face the meeting to resolve their differences over the implications of the Supreme Court verdict.