Responding to the allegations of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the Centre had no intention to run the State government through the Lieutenant-Governor.
“We do not have any objection to the working of the State government. However, upholding Constitutional provisions is also our responsibility,” said Mr. Singh at a press conference here, in reply to a question on the ongoing stand-off between the Delhi government and Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung.
With the Aam Aadmi Party scaling up the battle on issues surrounding the core demand for full Statehood, the Home Minister said the Centre had not yet given a thought on extending the status to Delhi.
Asked how the Centre intended to deal with the situation if the AAP took to the streets, Mr. Singh said it would have to intervene if any law and order issue arose. “Law and order is my duty,” he said. Through a notification on May 21, the MHA conferred powers on the Lieutenant-Governor to appoint bureaucrats and also restrained the Anti-Corruption Branch under the Delhi government from taking action against any Central government employee.
Black moneyReacting to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging inaction on the black money issue, the Home Minister said Mr. Gandhi was unaware of the steps taken by the government, as he “would have been away all along.”
“Immediately after assuming office, we set up an SIT and since then, the government has taken a series of steps to curb generation of black money,” he said.
Stating that good governance and development had done a “ghar wapsi” after the 10-year UPA rule, the Home Minister also sought to counter Mr. Gandhi’s statement that only one person speaks in the government, stating: “No Minister in the Narendra Modi government is powerless. We believe in the philosophy of talk less and more work.”
Rebutting allegations against the RSS, Mr. Singh asserted that he is an RSS member. “I am an RSS swayamsevak… RSS ideology promotes the idea of India where all 72 sects of Islam co-exist. The RSS promotes the inclusive Indian culture where Parsis from Iran and Jews get the same respect. A church was built in Kerala about 2000 years ago,” he said.
Mr. Singh said in the past one year, the Central government had given long-term visas to many of the minorities persecuted in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. While several of them have also been given citizenship, the government plans to bring amendments to the Citizenship Act in this regard.
Ram templeOn the Ram temple issue, Mr. Singh said although development was the current priority of the government, it remains an important issue for the BJP. “The issue is presently pending in the Supreme Court. The two communities may also sit together and find a solution,” he said, adding that the government had no plans to mediate.
