AAP seeks amendment to Constitution

The High Court, on Monday, said that the Lt Governor must respect the mandate of the people in all matters.

The Aam Aadmi Party lawmakers on Tuesday demanded amendment to the Constitution to give the Assemblies the power to impeach Governors and Lieutenant-Governors.

The demand came in view of the ongoing stand-off between Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government and L-G Najeeb Jung on various administrative issues and the former accusing the L-G of trying to render democratically elected government ineffective and directly run the government.

“These back to back notifications by means of which the Centre is trying to encroach upon the rights of a democratically-elected Government are a travesty; I would like to suggest that the Assembly look into the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission and pass for a resolution pushing for powers to impeach the Lieutanant-Governor just like Parliament has the power to impeach the President,” Dwarka MLA Adarsh Shastri said in the House.

On the first day of an emergency session convened to discuss further course of action in the continuing impasse between the Central and Delhi Governments, the AAP- dominated Vidhan Sabha resounded with the recommendations of Sarkaria Commission that had sought to tilt the balance between the two entities in favour of the latter three decades ago.

Centre to move SC

The Central government is set to approach the Supreme Court over a Delhi High Court judgement which termed as 'suspect' it's recent notification that gave the Lt Governor massive powers in some matters with regard to the administration of Delhi. A highly placed source in the Central government confirmed to

The Hindu that the Home Ministry would approach the Supreme Court for a clarification on the matter. The High Court, on Monday, said that the Lt Governor must respect the mandate of the people in all matters which fall under the domain of the Assembly.

(With additional reporting by Jayant Sriram)