LG-CM meet; impasse over services continues
Decision comes after Kejriwal and Sisodia’s meeting with LG Anil Baijal
NEW DELHI: After nearly 48 hours of the Supreme Court judgment, the Delhi Chief Minister and the Lieutenant Governor held a 25-minute closed-door meeting on Friday where the LG assured every cooperation from his side.
However, CM Arvind Kejriwal claimed that LG Anil Baijal had refused to give Delhi government control over the transfer and posting of bureaucrats because of a 2015 order of the home ministry that handed “services” to the Lieutenant Governor.
“Met Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. Assured them of my continued support and cooperation in the interest of good governance and overall development of Delhi as per the letter and spirit of Constitution,” LG Baijal tweeted.
In response, CM Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “Thank you, sir. All of us should work together for the development of Delhi. The constitution is supreme. Orders of SC become the law of the land. They must be respected.”
Meanwhile, a communique from the LG office said, “The MHA has advised that as per concluding paras of judgement, the nine appeals including the one relating to ‘Services’ shall be taken up by a Supreme Court bench and the MHA notification dated May 25, 2015, continues to be valid”.
However, later the CM alleged, “LG sought advice from home ministry which told him that services should not be given to Delhi government. It is the first time in the history of India that the Central government has openly refused to obey the SC’S order...”
Later on Friday the ministry of Home Affairs termed chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s statement on Delhi L-G seeking advice from MHA ‘msleading’. “MHA has not advised LG to ignore any part of SC order. This is a misleading statement,” a statement from MHA observed.
NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday sought an appointment with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to urge him to ensure implementation of the Supreme Court orders on governance in Delhi.
“MHA has advised LG to ignore that part of SC order, which restricts LG’S powers to only 3 subjects. V dangerous that central govt advising LG not to follow Hon’ble SC’S orders. Have sought time from Sh Rajnath Singh Ji to urge him to follow Hon’ble SC’S orders (sic),” the Chief Minister tweeted on Friday.
Kejriwal along with his deputy Manish Sisodia met Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal after the apex court’s verdict on Wednesday.
The LG did not agree on handing over the services department to the Delhi government even though Baijal assured him of his “continued support and cooperation in the interest of good governance and development of the national Capital”.
The Chief Minister said that during the meeting Baijal cited a 2015 Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notification that had placed services under the domain of the LG.
However, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party has stressed that the recent SC judgment had made the notification “infructuous” and that the necessity of a division bench quashing it was a mere “technicality”.
Regarding the services department and the CM’S statement, the MHA observed, “It would be against the law to take a final view on the matter related to services which are still pending before the regular Bench. This is also in accordance with the Proviso to Article 145(3) of the Constitution.”
Putting an end to the power tussle in the national capital, the five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had ruled that the Delhi government does not need the concurrence of the Lieutenant Governor for its decisions but has to only keep him posted.
The LG should not act as an “adversary having a hostile attitude” towards the government but act as a facilitator,” the order said.
“The LG and the council of ministers must attempt to settle any point of difference by way of discussion and dialogue,” it added.
Hours after the Supreme Court’s landmark judgement earlier this week, the Delhi government introduced a new system for transfer and postings of bureaucrats, making the Chief Minister the approving authority.
However, the services department refused to comply, saying the Supreme Court did not abolish the notification issued in 2015 which made the MHA the authority for transfers and postings.