Mayor polls, school supplies: L- G and High Court red- flag missing Delhi CM

Concerns grow in AAP over stage being set for constitutional faceoff with L- G

FROM THE time Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested in the Delhi excise policy case on March 21 and later sent to judicial custody, the ruling AAP has claimed that this could become a ground for the dismissal of its government in Delhi. And now two observations in two days on the missing CM, and a fresh salvo from the BJP on a “Constitutional crisis” in Delhi, have raised its apprehension.

On Thursday, the mayoral elections proposed for Friday were deferred with Lt Governor V K Saxena underlining the “peculiar and unprecedented circumstances where the serving Chief Minister is under judicial custody as an undertrial prisoner involved in a corruption case and, therefore, cannot discharge his constitutionally obligated functions”.

“I do not deem it appropriate to exercise my power as Administrator to appoint the Presiding Officer in absence of inputs from the Chief Minister,” Saxena noted in a f ile on the Municipal Corporation’s proposal to hold elections for the post of Mayor and Deputy Mayor at 11 am, Friday. “It is a requirement of law that… the matter should be placed before me through the Hon’ble Chief Minister and Chief Secretary only… the views, only of the Chief Minister, are required on file before arriving at a decision.”

And on Friday, the Delhi High Court, while hearing a matter related to non- supply of notebooks and stationery items to over 2 lakh students of MCD schools, told the Delhi government counsel “you have placed your political interest above the interest of school children”.

The bench led by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan said, “It is your choice that you have said that the ‘ CM will continue despite being in jail’, we haven’t

said so… You are forcing us to go down a street that we have been avoiding. This is your administration’s call. You want us to castigate you and we will come down with full vigour.”

These observations have led to fresh calls from the BJP that the Kejriwal government should go because “there’s a Constitutional crisis” in Delhi.

Pointing to the High Court observations, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, “Kejriwal’s insistence to continue as CM is creating administrative hurdles… This is a wake- up call… Kejriwal should take a cue and resign.”

The BJP said it has collected Delhi government documentation related to pendency of over 3,000 official files. These include a report on “serious irregularities” in the Delhi Airport Metro Line project and the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat scheme from 2015 till date.

Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, who has been fielded by the BJP from the South Delhi Lok Sabha seat, has demanded that Saxena intervene.

“The resignation of a Delhi minister is pending because the Chief Minister is in jail. There has been no Cabinet meeting for the last 35 days. Summer is reaching its peak but no summer plan for electricity and water has been made in Delhi… The entire administration is at a standstill. In such a situation, the Lieutenant Governor must take action,” Bidhuri said.

In response, AAP spokesperson Reena Gupta, said, “As always, the BJP has once again resorted to baseless lies. All the sham documents that the BJP has presented are concocted lies… If there is any work which has been delayed from its due date, it’s because of the L- G and BJP’S bureaucracy.”

The AAP has also blamed Saxena for the mess in the municipal body. It said he “illegally” appointed nominated members of the MCD House — 10 Aldermen – last year and this impacted the formation of a Standing Committee which is yet to be formed, resulting in stalling of MCD work.

The Lt Governor’s letter on the mayoral elections that have now been deferred, a source said, can add to a “paper trail of vacuum in governance” in Delhi.

Under Article 239- AB of the Constitution, the President can suspend the government if a situation arises “in which the administration of the NCT cannot be carried on in accordance to the provisions under Article 239AA.”

Article 239AA is the constitutional provision along with The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi ( GNCTD) Act, gives Delhi its unique constitutional status. Both Article 239AA and the GNCTD Act were passed simultaneously in 1991.

For all practical purposes, the GNCTD Act outlines the powers of the Assembly, the discretionary powers enjoyed by the LG, and the duties of the Chief Minister with respect to the need to furnish information to the L- G. Holding mayoral elections is an important state function outlined in the GNCTD Act.