In its continuing tussle with Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung over division of powers, the Arvind Kejriwal government has received support from an unexpected quarter – former Supreme Court Judge Markandey Katju, who has also served as the Chairman of the Press Council of India. This support has come despite the fact that Mr. Kejriwal has been unhappy with the attitude of a large section of the Press towards him.
Justice Katju has tersely observed that in the present conflict, Mr. Kejriwal is correct. Citing the Constitutional provisions, he wrote on his blog, “Satyam Bruyat”, last week that the Constitution incorporates the principles of democracy that the people rule themselves, through their elected representatives. “The stand of Mr. Najeeb Jung is thus totally untenable.” Justice Katju, known for his no-nonsense approach to the issues in public life, observed that the President of India and the Governors are only formal heads, like the British King. “He has to act according to the advice given by the Council of Ministers, and this is obvious once it is realised that we are living in a democracy, where people rule themselves,” he said.
The Delhi Dialogue Commission’s emphasis on e-governance in the day-to-day functioning of different departments and extending online access to the citizens at large seems to have affected a wing of the Union Government as well.
The Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE), which is the apex body of the Central Government-owned public enterprises and has all the public sector undertakings, a few State Government enterprises and some nationalised banks as its members, has laid emphasis on adopting IT and leverage IT-enabled initiatives in PSUs.
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SCOPE Director-General U.D. Choubey said at an e-governance event over the weekend that all public sector enterprises should not only adopt the latest technology, but also innovate and develop IT through in-house efforts.
Referring to the first 100 days of his Government as a learning curve, a minister of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) cabinet said it witnessed even seemingly dedicated party volunteers feel evidently disappointed due to its ‘no favour’ policy since assuming charge.
Many volunteers seeking preferential treatment from the AAP Government had expressed their discontent after being made to return from their doors empty handed since February 14.
“People, including our volunteers, thought we would change after assuming office and become like other parties in terms of showering our own people with benefits - but were terribly disappointed,” the minister said.
“Initially, we had dozens of acquaintances landing up at our offices to seek intervention in getting their work done in our respective capacities - but were turned down, outright,” the minister added.
This culminated in a slew of complaints that reached Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s office against a few of his ministers - but to no avail.
“Even the Chief Minister expressed his inability at weaning his cabinet over to ‘their side’ and told such volunteers that the party wouldn’t compromise on its principals at any cost,” the minister said.
“They were made to understand, once and for all, that no one, no matter whom, would receive benefits they weren’t entitled to,” the minister said.
Contributed by Mohammed Iqbal and Jatin Anand