In a strongly-worded letter to Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said there was “nothing unconstitutional” in tabling the Delhi Lokpal Bill in the Assembly without presidential assent.
He described the insistence on sending the Bill to the Union Home Ministry for assent as an “attack on the autonomy of the people of Delhi and the State legislature”.
Mr. Kejriwal questioned the propriety of the L-G in seeking the Solicitor-General’s opinion on the Bill even before he had received a copy of the draft.
“The copy of the draft Bill was sent to your office only on Thursday evening. On which Bill did you seek the opinion of the Solicitor-General?” Mr. Kejriwal asked Dr. Jung.
Mr. Kejriwal objected to what he called the leaking of the reported opinion of the S-G to the media by the L-G. “If you wanted to seek an opinion on the proposed law, you could have discussed it with me and I would have briefed you on your doubts,” the Chief Minister wrote.
The rule directing the Delhi Government to send the draft Bill to the Home Ministry before tabling it in the Assembly was actually framed and notified by the Home Ministry, it had nothing to do with the Constitution, the letter stated.
The Delhi Government, on the advice of retired High Court judge Justice Mukul Mudgal, prominent jurists P. V. Kapoor, K.N. Bhatt and Pinaki Mishra, has recommended the withdrawal of the Home Ministry order and also decided not to comply with it, the letter added.
The Chief Minister said all political parties had ganged up against the Aam Aadmi Party Government because it was taking strict action against corrupt officials and politicians.
“These parties are indulging in the dirty game of tarnishing the government’s image by raising petty issues,” he said.
Mr. Kejriwal also said that the L-G was under “tremendous pressure” from the Congress and the Home Ministry. He feared that the pressure would mount in the coming days “because they know that if the Bill is passed, several persons from among them will be behind bars”.
Mr. Kejriwal’s letter to the L-G further said: “Please don’t let down the Constitution.”
