The Aam Aadmi Party had won a huge mandate in the 2015 election to the Delhi Assembly, and Brand AAP became a synonym for clean politics imbued with idealism, a kind of politics that would seek to effectively tackle corruption, and would involve the people in taking key policy decisions. Those ideals are nowhere near fruition, and the AAP became synonymous with battling the Centre over the Delhi government’s jurisdiction and its own share of power in relation to the Centre and its representative, the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi.
In course of time the AAP was shown to be just another party, plying the political trade in much the same manner as other parties. Some of its leading lights — such as top lawyer Prashant Bhushan and social scientist Yogendra Yadav — quit the party, levelling the charge of high-handedness and the propensity to concentrate all power in himself and in his coterie by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. The Delhi government went to court to have its powers delineated in relation to the Centre. In a ruling on Thursday, the Delhi High Court made it plain that Delhi “continues to be a Union territory”, and that the Lieutenant-Governor is its “administrative head”.
It is evident from this that the Chief Minister, although commanding a majority in the legislature, cannot lay claim to the status that a two-judge bench of the High Court made clear only the L-G enjoys. The Kejriwal government’s contention that the L-G can act only on the advice of the council of ministers was found to be without substance. Thus, at one stroke, a number of key decisions taken by the Kejriwal government have been set aside. These include the probe into the affairs of the Delhi and District Cricket Association, and into the so-called CNG fitness scam, revision of property circle rates and stamp duty, and the nomination of directors to the power discoms.
It is to be seen if the Delhi government, that plans to appeal the judgement, finds succour in the Supreme Court. It will be salutary if the Supreme Court makes it clear if Delhi, with an elected Assembly, is a UT with exactly the same characteristics as any other UT, like Chandigarh, that has no elected legislature. If that is the case, the court must also indicate the constitutional relevance of the Delhi Assembly. Based on the High Court ruling it is premature to conclude that the AAP would necessarily suffer politically in Delhi in a future electoral contest, or that its electoral bid in Punjab, Goa and Gujarat will begin with a handicap. On the other hand, Mr Kejriwal’s stock can conceivably rise if the Supreme Court rules in favour of his government.
