Bureaucrat row: Kejriwal-Jung war escalates, LG cancels CM’s ‘unconstitutional’ appointments
New Delhi: As the turf war between Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal further escalated, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefed on the raging crisis on Wednesday. As a flurry of unpleasant letters marked the day after the L-G and Delhi CM met President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday, the Central government decided not to be caught in the ugly battle and urged both the L-G and the CM to sit together to find a solution to the ongoing war triggered by the appointment of Shakuntala D. Gamlin as acting chief secretary of Delhi.
Read: Jung-Kejriwal row: Sit together and find a solution, says Rajnath Singh
As the deadlock between the two power centres remained unresolved, home minister Rajnath Singh, who briefed the PM on the crisis, said: “The L-G and chief minister must jointly find a solution to the problem.” The L-G shot off a letter to the CM referring to his “constitutional power” to appoint and transfer bureaucrats, and cancelled all the appointments made by the Delhi government in the past four days.
Read: Jung-Kejriwal row: Yadav, Bhushan supports Delhi government
Mr Kejriwal, on the other hand, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking that his government be allowed to work “independently” even as he accused the Centre of trying to run the city government through the L-G. In a letter to Mr Kejriwal, Mr Jung challenged the AAP government’s order to bureaucrats not to follow his directives without securing approval from the CM or any other minister.
Read: IAS officer's appointment row: Lawyers back AAP govt's stand after it seeks opinion
Mr Jung also contested the AAP government’s instructions to its officials to not route files through his office, saying he had been vested with powers to decide major policy issues. Mr Jung’s letter explained the constitutional provisions and norms laid down in the Government of NCT of Delhi Act and Transaction of Business Rules of the Delhi government, and asked the AAP government to follow these rules and procedures.
Read: Jung-Kejriwal fight escalates, LG declares appointments made in 4 days void
“It has been clarified by the L-G to the chief minister in a letter issued today that the order issued by the deputy CM is fundamentally at variance with the Constitution since service matters are assigned to the lieutenant-governor under the powers delegated to him by the President. The lieutenant-governor alone is competent to approve the transfer and posting of principal secretary and secretary-level officers, in consultation with the chief minister,” a statement from Raj Niwas said.
