After a week-long drama that brought Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on the collision course, Swati Maliwal has officially been made the chief of the Delhi Commission for Women. Mr. Jung gave his consent to appoint the 30-year-old Ms Maliwal and three other members, handpicked by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, after the Delhi government sent him a fresh note heeding to his directive to follow the procedure on Monday.
“The file pertaining to the appointment of Maliwal and other members of the DCW has been cleared,” sources said. Even the Department of Women and Child Development, which had earlier notified Maliwal’s appointment, confirmed the L-G’s approval and said she will resume office from Tuesday.
The Delhi government had sent the file on Maliwal’s appointment only after the L-G red-flagged it saying his approval was a must. He had, however, said he would have no hesitation in clearing it if the process was followed.
The L-G had struck down her appointment on Tuesday last week, a day after she took charge of the Commission, asserting that the “government” in Delhi meant the L-G.
While the tussle between the two powerhouses escalated, DCW’s Sahyogini project suffered as the complainants weren’t getting legal aid. A panel of the Commission’s members and legal advisers hold ‘Sahyogini Sessions’ where complainants are offered counselling. Many hearings are conducted before the Commission reaches a conclusion for the affected women. It exercises the powers of a Civil Court to ensure compliance of its summons for witnesses and for evidence.
“In the past one week, our Sahyogini project has suffered. Many complainants were asked to wait and since these are sensitive cases, some withdrew their cases,” said an official with the Commission.
The past one week saw a war of letters being waged between the L-G and the CM with both accusing each other. Mr. Kejriwal accused the L-G of working at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Chief Minister had also alleged that Mr. Jung had ordered for the DCW office to be locked. “The L-G says he is the government of Delhi. How can that be? How can anyone call himself the government? This will result in dictatorship in Delhi. Nothing can be more laughable than this. India is a democracy. Delhi has an elected government,” Kejriwal had said in a letter to the L-G.
Later, heeding to the L-G’s demand, the AAP government had sent the file to him for clearance. However, this was returned saying it was not properly processed. The file was again sent Mr. Jung, who then approved Maliwal’s appointment.
Mr. Jung, meanwhile, had said he was sure Mr. Kejriwal had exercised due diligence in selecting Ms. Maliwal and other members of the panel and that he would have no hesitation in confirming their appointment.
