Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) VK Saxena and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met after a long gap to discuss governance, only to blame each other for the lack of it in the national Capital.
While Kejriwal said that the L-G told him that he can ask for any file since he is the "administrator" and stressed that various orders of the L-G are illegal in view of the 2018 Supreme Court judgement on transferred subjects, the L-G flagged a 12-point concern list including “immoral continuance of Satyendar Jain as Minister despite being in prison”, and no hospital or flyover being made in the last 8 years among others.
Interestingly, both Kejriwal and Saxena advised each other not to politicise every issue and focus on governance. Addressing a press conference after the weekly meeting with Saxena, Kejriwal alleged that during his meeting with the L-G, he had cited Supreme Court judgments and various provisions of the Constitution but Saxena said that he has been referred to as the "administrator" and enjoys supreme authority."Delhi L-G has been interfering in the Government's work that is causing inconvenience to people of Delhi. My intention was to sort out the issues, which is why I carried copies of the Constitution, Motor Vehicles Act, School Education Act, Supreme Court judgement," Kejriwal said. Kejriwal said that there are two kinds of subjects in Delhi - "reserved subjects" that include police, land, and public order on which LG can only take decisions, and "transferred subjects". "All the other subjects come under the Delhi Government. On July 4, the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had passed a judgement that said the L-G has not been entrusted with any independent decision-making power in terms of transferred subjects," he said. He also said, "There is no independent authority vested in the L-G to take decisions. In some matters, he can act as a judicial authority."
Kejriwal said that this means that various orders passed by L-G, including ones on sealing of Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission Vice Chairman Jasmine Shah's office and issuing of notice demanding Rs 164 crore in recovery for ad expenses, are "illegal and unconstitutional". "However, the L-G said that he has been referred to as the 'Administrator' and enjoys supreme authority," Kejriwal added.
The Chief Minister also said that several departments stopped payments to the Delhi Government three months ahead of the MCD polls. "Officials said that they had been unofficially told to do so. This was done to hurt the AAP in the polls," he said.
After Kejriwal’s press conference, Raj Niwas issued a press release saying that the statements that the Chief Minister attributed to Saxena with regard to orders of the Supreme Court and powers as administrator are misleading and twisted to suit a particular agenda.
Informing about the points that were discussed in the meeting, Raj Niwas said that the points which were underlined in the meeting are broken/potholed roads; no new flyover/underpass in eight years, record Air pollution and worsening condition of Yamuna, no new Hospital in eight years, no new school / college building in eight years, despite 13 plots given by DDA, no effort undertaken to create new park/ green space.
“Apart from this, encroachment on Yamuna floodplains, worsened drainage system – severe waterlogging across the city, no effort ever taken to clean Najafgarh Drain, corruption in Government Departments, illegal appointment of private persons as government nominees on Boards of Private DISCOMS instead of government officers, despite written objections from two LGs, delaying and derailing projects of National / Public Importance – redevelopment of AIIMS, new Academic Blocks in IIT, expansion of Metro and NHAI projects and immoral continuation of Satyendra Jain as Minister despite him being in prison for long were the topics which were raised by the L-G in the meeting,” Raj Niwas said.
The statement said that all statements attributed by the CM to the LG in his press conference after the meeting, with regards to orders of the Supreme Court, powers as administrator, supremacy over all subjects and directions to officers are misleading, patently false and fabricated and twisted to suit a particular agenda.
These statements are categorically denied."