A day after Swati Maliwal took charge as the chief of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung wrote to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanding an explanation, saying his approval was not sought with regard to the appointment.
However, the AAP government has said that they stand by their decision of appointing Ms. Maliwal as the DCW chairperson, irrespective of the L-G’s letter.
Mr. Jung has now asked for the file pertaining to the appointment and said that any action taken by the new DCW chairperson will be considered ‘ultra vires’ and ‘infructuous’ as he hasn’t approved it.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, Mr. Jung said: “The constitutionally valid and consistent definition of ‘Government’ is the ‘Lieutenant Governor of the NCT of Delhi as appointed by the President under Article 239.”
Now, with Ms. Maliwal’s appointment being questioned, the war between the two power houses is likely to escalate.
Sources said the L-G’s Office has pointed out that such appointments fall under the concurrent list, and that both the L-G and the CM must concur before these are notified. “All statutory notifications of the re-constitution of DCW in the past had approval of the L-G. Even the proposal moved by the AAP government in January 2014 for removal of the former chairperson was placed before the L-G,” Mr. Jung wrote.
An India Against Corruption and RTI activist, 30-year-old Ms. Maliwal took charge on Monday. Earlier, she was the Chief Minister’s Advisor (Grievances). Officials admitted that the High Court has also clarified that appointments cannot be made without the L-G’s approval.
This isn’t the first time that the L-G and the Chief Minister have locked horns over appointments. In the past, the L-G and the AAP government had a stand-off over the appointment of the Acting Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, Services Secretary and the chief of the Anti-Corruption Branch.
The AAP government in Delhi has accused the NDA government at the Centre of interfering in their work through the L-G. In an interview to The Hindu earlier, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said the Centre was not letting them work and placing several roadblocks.
