An ugly face-off between Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, which started with the appointment of Shakuntla D. Gamlin as Acting Chief Secretary on Friday, turned into a full-blown war on Saturday with each accusing the other of violating the provisions of the Constitution.
The Aam Aadmi Party government accused the Union government of trying to topple a democratically elected government through the Lieutenant-Governor.
While Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleged that the BJP was attempting to take control of the government in Delhi, Mr. Kejriwal said Mr. Jung was trying to render the democratically elected government ineffective and directly run the government. Mr. Kejriwal has sought an appointment with President Pranab Mukherjee to apprise him of the situation.
Kejriwal asks Jung to uphold Constitution
Within a few hours of the 1984-batch IAS officer Shakuntla Gamlin taking charge on Friday as Acting Chief Secretary for 10 days, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung accusing him of bypassing his elected government and trying to run the government through Secretaries. The Chief Minister asked the Lieutenant-Governor to “remain within the confines of the Constitution” and “uphold the Constitution whatever be the political pressures”.
“You are holding a Constitutional post. Whatever be the political pressures, you have a duty to uphold the Constitution,” the CM wrote in his letter.
“I cannot but conclude that this is a thinly disguised attempt to reduce the democratically elected government ineffective and administer the National Capital Territory of Delhi directly,” he added.
The Chief Minister removed Anindo Majumdar, Principal Secretary to the Services Department, who had issued the orders to appoint Ms. Gamlin Acting Chief Secretary.
The Lieutenant-Governor, however, not only revoked and termed the order ab initio void he also defended his decisions saying his Secretariat had not taken a single decision which was in violation of the provisions of the Constitution.
“It is reiterated that the Lieutenant-Governor has acted fully conscious of his duties and responsibilities under the Constitution of India. Till date, not a single action taken by the Lieutenant-Governor’s Secretariat is in non-conformity with the provisions of the Constitution,” the statement issued from Raj Niwas read.
