The internecine war of supremacy between lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took an ugly turn on Friday with the lieutenant-Governor appointing 1984-batch IAS officer Shakuntala D Gamlin as the acting Chief Secretary notwithstanding strong reservations by Kejriwal dispensation which termed the decision as “unconstitutional”. Gamlin is currently holding the charge of Principal Secretary (Power). Chief Secretary KK Sharma is on leave for 10 days due to which the Government had to appoint an Acting Chief Secretary.
later in the evening, the AAP Government issued a statement saying Jung, in an extraordinary manner had issued instructions directly to the Secretary (Services) to give the additional charge of Chief Secretary of Delhi to Gamlin. The statement said the lieutenant-Governor had bypassed the elected Government, the CM and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, who also acts as the Minister in-charge of Services department. “Hon’ble lieutenant Governor does not have the extraordinary powers under the Constitution to bypass the elected Government and issue instructions directly to the Secretaries, whatever be the provocation,” it added.
The statement also said, “The Government had certain reservations about the conduct of Gamlin because of which the Government was hesitant to give the additional charge of Chief Secretary to her as she was perceived to be extremely close to power distribution companies in Delhi and was lobbying for their interests within the Government.”
According to sources, Gamlin may opt for leave after Kejriwal Government’s allegations. Before Gamlin’s issue, the CM had issued memos to Sharma and Principal Secretary (Home) Dharampal asking him to not route certain files through l-G’s office.
Prior to this, a bureaucrat in CM’s Office had allegedly asked Gamlin not to accept lieutenant-Governor’s offer and threatened to defame her if she took over as acting Chief Secretary. She was curtly told by Chief Minister’s secretary Rajender Kumar that they will spread the news about her proximity with a corporate house. Gamlin is said to have reacted strongly and threatened to sue Kumar. Sources said that Gamlin told Kumar that he was not only blackmailing but also intimidating her. Gamlin also sent a written complaint to the lieutenant-Governor who forwarded it to the Home Ministry.
Asked about the contents of the letter, Gamlin said, “I do not want to say anything about the matter. All that I want to tell you is that all the officers want to follow the Constitution in letter and spirit. We are all here to perform our duties for smooth functioning of the administration.” Sources, however, said in her complaint, Gamlin said Chief Minister’s secretary Rajender Kumar had recently shown her an unsigned note stating that Kejriwal does not find her suitable for the post of the Acting Chief Secretary. Gamlin alleged that she has been asked to withdraw herself from the race for the post. The “politics” over appointment of acting Chief Secretary in Delhi do not go down well with the bureaucracy, which is not a healthy sign for the Arvind Kejriwal Government. Further, the controversy is likely to further complicate the relation between the Raj Niwas and the Delhi Secretariat.
The Association of the IAS Officers was in the process of passing a memorandum to condemn these incidents. A draft of the memorandum, accessed by this newspaper, said: “As a result of gross misunderstanding of the Constitutional provisions relating to powers of the Council of Ministers of GNCTD and infringement of official protocol and etiquette in several instances, the atmosphere in Delhi Sachivalaya has become highly vitiated and suffocating. Accordingly discharging of official duties by officers and staff in a Constitutional, lawful and proper manner has become difficult. The matter requires immediate intervention by a higher authority in order that the tense situation prevailing on the ground is diffused at the earliest.”
The proposed memorandum further said : “The officers belonging to the IAS and DANICS cadres urge all concerned and the Council of Ministers that they ought not to be intimidated in working in a manner that is considered either unconstitutional, unlawful or not proper and that official protocol and etiquette is not breached in the future.”