Amid the impasse over division of powers in Delhi, the BJP unequivocally backed Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung on Friday, saying it was not mandatory for him to consult Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on matters such as appointment of officials.
Mr. Kejriwal cried foul, accusing the Centre of backstabbing the people of the capital and alleging that the Prime Minister’s Office was trying to run Delhi through the Lieutenant-Governor.
“Pre-Independence, the Queen of England used to send notifications to the Viceroy of India. Now, Jung ‘Saheb’ is the Viceroy and the PMO is London,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
A Gazette notification, issued by the Union Home Ministry late on Thursday night, said the Lieutenant-Governor would have jurisdiction over matters connected with services, public order, police and land.
It left matters pertaining to services of bureaucrats to be settled by the Lieutenant-Governor, allowing him discretionary powers to seek the opinion of the Chief Minister as and when the former deemed it fit.
