DELHI’S AFFIDAVITS TO SC BLAME LG FOR ‘DERAILING’ GOVERNANCE

NEW DELHI: Accusing Delhi’s lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena of encouraging the “recalcitrance of civil servants” towards the elected government, the Delhi government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the LG’s office has “derailed” the governance of the national capital “in complete disregard of constitutional commitments to representative democracy and federalism”.

It further alleged that the LG is “running a parallel system of governance in the NCT of Delhi” by abrogating to himself the powers of an elected government. Submitting two separate affidavits before a Constitution bench which is seized of the power tussle between the Centre and Delhi government, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia alleged that LG Saxena has been constantly trying to appropriate the executive powers of the elected government. There was no comment from the LG’s office on the matter. Saxena, who stepped into the role on May 26, the affidavits claim, seeks to usurp the powers of the duly elected state government so as to not only upset the scheme of federalism and representative democracy, but also harmed public interests in sectors ranging from public health, education, environmental protection. “The unconstitutional and undemocratic encroachment of the powers of a duly elected government has made governance in Delhi challenging and unnecessarily difficult for the elected government,” they stated. Sisodia filed the affidavits in two separate cases. The first relates to the tug of war between the Union and Delhi governments over the control of bureaucrats, while the second matter pertains to the 2021 Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, which gives an upper hand to the LG in the matters of administration of Delhi. The 2021 amendment makes it mandatory for the Delhi government to seek the opinion of the LG before taking any executive action in pursuance of decisions by the council of ministers, or any other decision under any law in force in the Capital — a clause which the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has averred to be contrary to previous Supreme Court judgments and constitutional provisions favouring an elected government in Delhi.