The Lieutenant Governor, “may, in his discretion, obtain the views of the Chief Minister… wherever he deems it appropriate,” said the Centre’s statement.
The detailing of the division of powers is an attempt to close out the lengthy feud between the Chief Minister and the Lieutenant Governor, who have spent the last week appointing and removing bureaucrats to prove who is really entitled to call the shots.
The Centre’s statement endorses what the Lieutenant Governor has claimed all along – that as the representative of the union government in Delhi, he is the authority for the Delhi Police, issues related to Land, and the postings of key government officers.
The notification comes after a detailed discussion yesterday between Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is certain to irk Mr Kejriwal, who has claimed that an elected government cannot be saddled with bureaucrats against its choice. His stand has been backed by other heads of state governments, who say the Chief Minister’s team cannot be decided without his assent.
The furious contest yielded many debating points linked to what the Constitution provides for Delhi, which is a union territory and not a full state.
Mr Kejriwal wrote to the PM this week alleging that his party, the BJP, is trying to govern Delhi through the Lieutenant Governor.
Mr Kejriwal and the Lieutenant Governor, whose working relationship has never been smooth, plummeted into their latest battle over an IAS officer described by the Chief Minister as a “lobbyist for power companies”. She was picked by Mr Jung as Acting Chief Secretary or the senior-most bureaucrat in the Delhi government.
Post a Comment