The Arvind Kejriwal Government and lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung continued to take on each other in a series of tit-for-tat actions on Monday. The AAP Government took its confrontation with the lieutenant-Governor (l-G) a step further by defiantly telling him that his “unconstitutional” orders regarding appointment of key bureaucrats will not be complied with.
The Kejriwal Government also declared that it will not give charge of Service and General Administration Department (GAD) to Principal Secretary Anindo Majumdar, who had issued an order notifying the appointment of Shakuntala Gamlin as the acting Chief Secretary (CS) against the wishes of Chief Minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal.
“The Delhi Government stands by its order to remove Majumdar from the post of Principal Secretary Service and GAD, which was issued on Saturday after he issued the appointment letter to Gamlin, following instructions from lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung,” a senior official said.
He further said that Majumdar is still with the Delhi Government as Principal Secretary but without any charge. His charge of Principal Secretary of Services Department was given to the Chief Minister’s Secretary Rajendra Kumar, which was promptly rejected by the l-G.
Reacting to the appointment, Jung shot off a letter to Kejriwal, declaring Kumar’s appointment in place of Majumdar “void”, noting that it did not have his approval.
In his letter to Kejriwal, Jung said, he rejected Kumar’s appointment as it is against the laid down rules and procedures. However, refusing to accept Jung’s order, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said the lG can transfer and appoint officers but allocation of work is decided by the State Government.
The Delhi Government also issued orders that all directions from the l-G, written or oral, to the CS or any Administrative Secretary, should first be submitted by the bureaucrat concerned to the CM or Minister-in-charge and no action should be taken by the officer on his own.
The order firmly prohibits all Principal Secretaries/ Secretaries/ Heads of Departments, Deputy Chief Minister and all Ministers from implementing any of the l-G’s directions. The order from the CMO states that it is mandatory for officials not to take any action on such directions/orders, till written directions are received from the CM or the Minister-in-charge on the same.
“It is hereby ordered that any direction or order whether oral or written received from Hon’ble l-G or his office to the CS or any Administrative Secretary should first be submitted by the concerned Administrative Secretary/CS on file to the Minister-in-charge for a decision to act on such direction/order. No action will be taken by the Administrative Secretary/CS on such direction/order till written directions are received from the Chief Minister or the Minister-in-charge on the same,” Kejriwal said in the order.
“If such orders/directions come to them, the department concerned should take directions from the CM and the Minister-in-charge on the same. The Chief Secretary, Principal Secretaries, Secretaries, HoDs are directed to strictly adhere to this order,” it said.
In a related development, in a bid to curtail the powers of the l-G even further, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has retained all powers related to transfers and postings of officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Delhi-Andaman and Nicobar Island Civil Service (DANICS) with himself. Till now, this power is vested with the l-G.
Interestingly, in a separate order to all departments, Sisodia has directed that the CS or the acting CS cannot issue any direction directly in respect of any proposal or matter in any department since the Minister-in-charge of the department is primarily responsible for the disposal of the business.
Due to the ongoing power struggle, the Transaction of Business Rules may come to halt. Functioning of the Delhi Government has already reached this stage as bureaucrats are unable to function properly due to this battle for supremacy. The entire bureaucracy is in a fix whether they should follow the CM’s order or their bureaucratic boss, the new acting CS installed by the l-G.
The work at Players’ Building has come to a standstill as Ministers and CM of the Delhi Government are busy finding ways to prove who the actual boss is.