In an unprecedented move, the Arvind Kejriwal Government in a emergency Cabinet meeting on Friday levelled serious allegations against lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung for his alleged role in the sudden transfer of VAT Commissioner Vijay Kumar who it alleged was targeted for “fighting graft”, and appointed a Group of Ministers (GoM) to protect bureaucrats from victimisation.
Also, the Cabinet alleged the l-G for being hand in glove with the vested interests and was trying to sabotage the popularly elected Government. The GoM will be chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and will consist of Home Minister Satyendra Jain and Transport Minister Gopal Rai as members. Principal Secretary (Services) will be Secretary to the GOM.
According to the Cabinet, the l-G has reportedly directed officials to paralyse the elected AAP Government by making adverse and obstructionist file notings against the Government’s decisions.
“The Cabinet is aghast to learn of these developments. This is a clear attempt to subvert the functioning of a democratically-elected Government which had come to power with a thumping majority,” the Government stated in the Cabinet resolution that passed two resolutions.
In the first resolution, Kejriwal, asked Jung to explain the “compelling circumstances” which forced him to transfer Vijay Kumar and wanted to know whether it was linked to the raids the bureaucrat carried out against 200 fraudulent companies as well as on an international food chain.
The Cabinet posed four specific questions to the l-G which included whether it was true that he had summoned Kumar after passing his relieving order and threatened him to leave Delhi immediately and that whether he received written or oral instructions from PMO or MHA to relieve the tax official.
Responding to the charges leveled by the AAP Government, a Press release by the l-G office said the officer was transferred on the orders of the MHA as he had completed his tenure in the national Capital. The MHA is the sole authority in this regard and the l-G was just following the orders of the MHA.
“There has never been any recommendation from the l-G’s Secretariat to the MHA requesting for transfer of any of these officers, either now or before,” it said.
“Reports have also been put out of alleged intimidation by the l-G’s Secretariat of officers. In view of the background of several episodes of poor treatment meted out by the elected Government to the Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretaries - Home, Power, GAD, Services, Commissioner (Transport), Principal Secretary (law) and others, the l-G’s Secretariat does not wish to comment on this issue,” it said.
“Raj Niwas has received orders from the MHA on October 9, 2015, with instructions that five officers who have been under orders of transfer from Delhi to other Union Territories since April/July 2015 and who have not been relieved by the GNCTD, may be relieved with immediate effect with the direction to join the new place of posting immediately. Vijay Kumar’s name figured amongst these five officers. Accordingly, orders to relieve these five officers so mentioned by the Ministry of Home Affairs were issued by the l.G’s Secretariat on October 12, 2015,” said the press statement of l-G.
In the second resolution, the Cabinet “took a serious view” of the fact that several senior officers have informed the Government that “they had been summoned by l-G and were threatened of dire consequences including police action by instituting bogus enquiries against them if they refuse to partake in the exercise of obstructing the functioning of the Delhi Government.”
The Cabinet decided to appoint a GoM which will protect officers from political victimisation and authorised it to take all steps required to deal with such issues including providing legal support at Government’s cost. The Cabinet slammed Jung for relieving Kumar without consulting the elected Government and said, “Unilateralism is one thing. Acting outside the remit of one’s own powers is another. It requires special mention here that lG does not have the powers to relieve officers. It is the elected executive, which alone has the power to do so. Therefore, such action on the part of lG was also an illegal and invalid exercise of power,” a resolution passed by the Cabinet said.
In a statement, the Government said Kumar had raided a well-connected trader in Old Delhi, an international food chain and a politically powerful dealer of automobiles. The last VAT raid under his leadership was on the night of September 30. “In this raid, as many as 200 fraudulent companies that existed only on paper were discovered. These companies have been found to be involved in massive and organised tax evasions,” it said.
The AAP Government alleged an international hawala dealer, wanted by the Interpol, is suspected to be behind the network of 200 companies and that the case details have been shared with the Income Tax Department and Enforcement Directorate. It said in the last 23 years, never before had any l-G directly relieved an officer.