AAP MLA Adarsh Shastri moves resolution seeking to impeach Delhi LG Najeeb Jung

AAP MLA Adarsh Shastri on Tuesday moved a resolution in the Delhi Assembly seeking an amendment in the Constitution to allow state governments to impeach Governors and Lieutenant Governors. Speaking to CNN-IBN, Shastri said: “There is Article 155 and 156 in the constitution of India which provides for the impeachment of the President of India if there is a majority in the Parliament which seeks the removal of the President. Similarly, there should be amendments to allow state legislatures to impeach a Governor or LG if the case arrives.” [caption id=“attachment_2263634” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] AAP MLA Adarsh Shastri. Image: Twitter account[/caption] When asked what legal backing his resolution had, Shastri said it was more about constitutional validity. “I believe we have to see that the Constitution enshrines a federal structure- I feel the Government of India is interfering in the functioning of a popularly elected government,” he told the news channel. The AAP government, earlier this week, decided to convene a two-day ’emergency’ session of Delhi Assembly to deliberate on the Centre’s notification giving absolute powers to the L-G with regards to the appointment of bureaucrats and issues of police and public order. The gazette notification issued by the Centre as well as issues relating to sharing of power between the elected government and the Lt Governor will be the main issues of discussion at the Session which is currently underway. At a cabinet meeting held earlier last week, AAP MLAs had claimed that the government had sought legal opinion from constitutional expert KK Venugopal and former Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium and both felt that the notification is against the provisions in the Constitution and laid down norms. “Legal opinions from noted constitutional expert KK Venugopal and former Solicitor General of India Gopal Subramanium were placed before the Cabinet and discussed in the meeting,” the Chief Minister’s office had said. The Cabinet also decided that depending on the requirement, the session can be extended further. In the notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Centre gave absolute powers to the LG in appointment of bureaucrats while also clarifying that he need not “consult” the chief minister on subjects like police and public order. After the notification was issued, Kejriwal had launched a frontal attack on the Centre, accusing it of “back-stabbing” the people of the city by “siding” with the Lt Governor to run Delhi through “backdoor” and protect the corrupt. The appointment of senior bureaucrat Shakuntala Gamlin as acting Chief Secretary had triggered a full-blown war between the ruling AAP and LG Najeeb Jung, with Kejriwal questioning the LG’s authority and accusing him of trying to take over the administration. With agency inputs