The battle for supremacy between lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has taken an ugly turn with both holding their ground. The Chief Minister in a circular to his officers has asked not to route files through the lieutenant-Governor. Piqued by the circular which, Jung said, was against the spirit of the Government of National Capital Territory Delhi (GNCTD) Act 1991, the l-G wrote back to the Chief Minister and reminded him about the rules and regulations vis-à-vis governance.
Jung has directed the Chief Minister to withdraw the directions and urged him to follow the Constitution. The l-G also made it incumbent upon all the officers to follow the Constitution and the GNCTD Act 1991. According to well-placed sources, Jung has reportedly conveyed the latest development to the Ministry of Home Affairs. He has also made it clear that he is the “boss” of Delhi. Jung has further asserted that ‘Government’ means the l-G, not the Chief Minister and directed the bureaucracy not to cross the line. The Union Home Ministry is said to have advised the l-G to keep performing as per the norms and does not yield to the Chief Minister’s demands.
In a related development, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Delhi Chief Secretary KK Sharma met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday evening. Though Delhi Government sources termed it a courtesy meeting, it is learnt that the tussle between Raj Niwas and the Delhi Government was also discussed at the meeting.
On Saturday, the l-G had informed the Chief Minister, drawing his attention to the relevant provisions of the Constitution, the GNCTD Act 1991 and the Transaction of Business Rules 1993, which underscore the relationship between the l-G’s and the Chief Minister’s office, that the role of the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers is to aid and advise the l-G where the latter is entitled to act solely on his own discretion and all files relating to matters for which legislative Assembly can make law should come to the l-G for final approval. Jung has instructed the CM that the directions issued to the officers be withdrawn. He has made it incumbent on all officers to follow the Constitution, GNCTD Act 1991 and the Transaction of Business Rules 1993, in letter and in spirit.
Earlier, Secretary to Kejriwal Rajender Kumar has issued an order to all Ministers,.., Chief Secretary and all HoDs/Principal Secretaries and Secretaries, stating that it has been decided that 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. According to a Government source, the Delhi Government has directed the administration to avoid unnecessary delays of important projects and to fast-track the decision-making process.
In the order, it has been stated that various provisions of NCT of Delhi ACT of 1991 and Constitution of India have been examined. The practices of administration being followed in the Delhi Government have been compared with the prevailing practices in other States and Government of India in light of constitutional provisions.
The order said that it has been observed that provision of Article 74/Article 163 and Article 167 of the Constitution of India are analogue to the provisions of Article 239AA (4) of Constitution of India and Section 41 and 45 of NCT of Delhi Act.
It has also been observed that despite that the analogous provisions referred above, while the business of Government is run in the name of President/Governor in government of India/States, without actually sending the files to the President/Governor in each case, in Delhi, the practise of burdening the lieutenant-Governor with all files for approval continues despite the insertion of 239AA and other above referred provisions of the Constitution of India and NCT of Delhi Act 1991.
Former Delhi Assembly Secretary and constitutional expert SK Sharma said that the Delhi Chief Minister should read the Constitution of India. With this order, Kejriwal has lowered the Office of President of India and degrade the constitutional provision and Constitution of India. “That’s was the reason why President of India had gifted Kejriwal a copy of Indian Constitution. The State Government has no role in police, land and law and order issue and everything is cleared in the Constitution. In this case, tussle of power between the lieutenant-Governor and the Chief Minister will be referred to President of India by lieutenant-Governor’s office for further clarification,” he said.
The lieutenant-Governor was unhappy with the way Kejriwal ordered magisterial enquiry into the AAP party worker Gajendra Singh’s alleged suicide at his party rally at Jantar Mantar. According to GNCT Act, the lieutenant Governor’s approval is needed for any enquiry by magistrate level. Earlier, Kejriwal had ordered magisterial enquiries into clash between AAP MlAs and Delhi Police and rape of a Nigerian woman in a moving car in east Delhi bypassing the l-G approval. The lt-Governor was also not happy of the Kejriwal’s direction that all files pertaining to police and land should be routed through the Chief Minister’s office to the l-G. The ACB action against policemen was another bone of contention between Jung and Kejriwal.
Jung had earlier expressed his annoyance over the manner the Kejriwal Government bypassed Raj Niwas domain in the appointment of Sanjeev Nandan Sahai as Acting Chief Secretary of Delhi on February 28. However, Jung had sought an explanation from the Government after terming the move to appoint Sahai unacceptable. Incidentally, the development took place soon after the CM wrote to Jung seeking greater role in police, public law and land related issues.
In a missive sent to two senior officials of the Delhi government, including Principal Secretary (Services), Jung has sought their response from them on the issue. The two officials reportedly gave a detailed reply, citing present circumstances and development in the Government. The lieutenant-Governor was also not happy with the manner CMO had written to the Delhi Police asking it to provide transfer and posting policy of SHOs and TIs.