Tuesday’s raids by the CBI at the Delhi Secretariat is just the latest episode in an escalating war between the Centre and the Delhi government: in the flurry of exchanges that followed, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal labelled Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “psychopath”; the Prime Minister’s cheerleaders mocked Mr.Kejriwal as “desperately seeking national attention”.
It came a day after Mr.Kejriwal had hit out at the Union Railway Ministry for the demolition of a slum that reportedly resulted in the death of an infant and rendered hundreds homeless.
Ever since the fledgling Aam Aadmi Party trounced the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 67-3 in the elections to the Delhi Assembly in January this year, the two parties have clashed almost without pause, as the AAP battles on for full statehood, and control over the police and land use.
For the Kejriwal government, sandwiched between the Centre that holds key powers and the three municipal corporations that are still held by the BJP, fulfilling electoral promises has not been easy.
And with the national capital the battlefield, every flashpoint has got amplified.
Most of the battles have been over the issue of bureaucratic transfers, appointments and postings, in which Lt.Governor Najeeb Jung, the Centre’s representative, has often crossed the line when it comes to the spirit – if not letter — of cooperative federalism. Mr Kejriwal’s fight against the Centre has seen him often becoming a rallying point for other beleaguered Chief Ministers such as the Chief Ministers of West Bengal and Bihar, Mamata Banerjee and Nitish Kumar.
In May this year, the Delhi High Court had observed that the Centre’s notification barring the Delhi government’s anti-corruption branch from acting against its officers in criminal offences was “suspect” and held that it can act against officials. That order came as a shot in the arm for the AAP government.
Another case pending in court is the appointment of MK Meena as Anti-Corruption Bureau chief by Lt-Governor Jung on June 9 against the wishes of the AAP government.
