Confusion prevails in the annals of Delhi Government and bureaucracy over the tug of war between the lieutenant Governor and the Chief Minister. Bureaucrats say they just cannot afford to go against the orders of the Chief Minister as he is the immediate boss of the Delhi Government. They also cannot ignore the orders and directions of the lieutenant Governor as he is the functional head of the Government and GNCTD Act 1991 stipulates that lieutenant Governor is the Government in Delhi. Unless this logjam is sorted out, the Delhi Government cannot function as its decision-making stands impacted as of now. The senior officials are finding difficult to adjust themselves in the current regime due to trust deficit between the Government and the bureaucracy.
Sources in the Government said that Principal Secretaries or Secretaries of the concerned departments and Chief Secretary will have to decide, ‘what should they doIJ’ The big question is what bureaucrats will do in such situation. They cannot afford to go against the lieutenant Governor, who is the real boss while they also cannot ignore directions or orders by the Chief Minister. If they go as per Transaction of Business Rules, the Chief Minister may not like this. If they ignore the lieutenant Governor, then Raj Niwas will be unhappy. Another officer said on the anonymity that lieutenant Governor should clarify which file has to be mandatorily sent to Raj Niwas and what type of files should not be routed through Raj Niwas.
“Similarly, Chief Minister himself issued clear directions in this regard but there should be a standing order. The order issued by the Chief Minister’s Secretary Rajendra Kumar has no legal sanctity. The bureaucrats are confused and this confusion will certainly impact on the governance and delay the movement of the files in the Government and the common man will suffer,” said official.
A bureaucrat said on the condition of anonymity that he would send files to Chief Secretary’s office and the Chief Secretary would decide whether file should be forwarded to Raj Niwas. Reacting on the controversy, a former bureaucrat said that the order issued by secretary to Chief Minister, has no legal sanctity and lieutenant Governor should not react in such manner.
“The bureaucracy is also finding difficult in the current regime due to trust deficit between babus and the Government. The Government does not trust bureaucracy and on the other hand, no senior officials are in the position to protect their subordinates at any level,” said a senior official. The tussle between the lieutenant Governor, who reports to the Central Government, and Kejriwal, reportedly began soon after the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in Delhi in February.
In an escalation of hostilities between Raj Niwas and Delhi Government, lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has written to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asserting that all Government files must come to him. In a sharp rejoinder on Sunday, Jung referred to the Constitution and the Delhi Government Act to underscore that “the role of the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers is to aid and advice” the lt Governor, who is the “final authority of all laws enacted by the Assembly and decisions taken by the Government.”
Earlier, Kejriwal’s Secretary Rajendra Kumar had directed files pertaining to all subjects transferred to Delhi legislative Assembly under Article 239AA(3)(a) of the Constitution of India should be decided at appropriate level up to the office of Chief Minister without bothering the office of lieutenant Governor.