Arvind Kejriwal says L-G Anil Baijal refused to agree over power of appointment, transfer of officers

Notwithstanding the Supreme Court ruling on the Delhi government’s powers vis-a-vis the Lieutenant Governor, the tussle over powers to transfer or post officers has become a fresh bone of contention. Kejriwal, who met L-G Anil Baijal on Friday, claimed the power comes under the state’s services department and hence lies with the Government of Delhi. However, in a press briefing after the meeting, Kejriwal told reporters that the L-G has refused to acknowledge the fact and said that Delhi being a Union Territory makes its powers subservient to the Central government. Baijal, in turn, wrote back to Kejriwal stressing that the 2015 notification stating that ‘services’ falls outside the purview of the Delhi Legislative Assembly “continues to be valid”. “L-G saheb agreed that it is not necessary to send files to him for approval every time, but he is not ready to cooperate in the services case,” Kejriwal said. [caption id=“attachment_4682791” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Arvind Kejriwal addressed reporters after a 25-minute meeting with L-G Anil Baijal. Twitter @AamAadmiParty[/caption] Kejriwal said that the L-G claimed that the Supreme Court did not scrap the home ministry’s 2016 notification, which makes Baijal the authority on matters relating to transfers and appointments. “I tried to point it out to him that from SC’s ruling, which limits L-G’s powers to Land, Police, and Public Order, the notification gets defunct automatically. Since services don’t fall under the purview of any of the above, the power should lie with the Delhi government,” Kejriwal said. “But L-G wants that Delhi government remains answerable for the work done by these officers, while he wants to appoint them himself,” he added. “L-G sought advice from that MHA which told him that services should not be given to Delhi government. It is the first time in the history of India that the Central government has openly refused to obey the SC’s order…,” Kejriwal told reporters. This would lead to anarchy in the country, he said. The chief minister said that since the parties in power at the Centre and state were political opponents, a conflict would surely arise as the Centre would want AAP to lose next elections. He said, “If a common man fails to comply with Supreme Court’s decision, he could still understand. But I fail to understand why the Centre itself is bent on committing contempt of court.” Meanwhile, Baijal also tweeted that he met Kejriwal and assured him of his continued support.

Met Hon'ble CM @ArvindKejriwal & Hon'ble Dy. CM @msisodia . Assured them of my continued support & cooperation in the interest of good governance & overall development of Delhi as per the letter and spirit of Constitution. pic.twitter.com/veBl8rJZCU

— LG Delhi (@LtGovDelhi) July 6, 2018

In his letter to Kejriwal, Baijal said that “further clarity” regarding services matter and other issues will be achieved when the appeals pending before the regular bench of the Supreme Court are finally disposed of. His statement came after Kejriwal’s press conference, wherein he accused the Centre and L-G of refusing to follow the Supreme Court’s order. In the letter, Baijal pointed to a 2015 Ministry of Home Affairs notification issuing “Presidential directions” under Article 239 and 239AA of the Constitution. It said ‘services’ falls outside the purview of the Legislative Assembly of the NCT of Delhi and consequently the government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi will have no executive powers in relation to ‘services’. “The said notification was also upheld by the High Court of Delhi in its judgement on 4 August, 2016. “In the wake of the judgement of the learned Constitutional Bench of Supreme Court, the MHA has advised that as per concluding paras of judgement, the nine appeals including the one relating to ‘Services’ shall be taken up by the learned regular Bench and the MHA notification dated 21.05.2015 continue to be valid,” the letter said. Baijal in his letter to Kejriwal said that the Supreme Court’s entire judgement and its implications are still being studied. “Lt Governor invited the chief minister’s kind attention to para-249 of the judgement wherein Supreme Court has observed that the set up in the NCT of Delhi is one where the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister on one hand and the L-G on the other are a team, a pair on a bicycle built for two with the President as its rider who retains the general control,” the L-G’s office said in a statement. Hours after the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment earlier this week, the Delhi government introduced a new system for transfer and postings of bureaucrats, making the chief minister the approving authority. However, the services department refused to comply, saying the Supreme Court did not abolish the notification issued in 2015 which made the MHA the authority for transfers and postings. The Supreme Court in its landmark judgement on Wednesday had said the L-G is bound by the elected government’s advice and cannot be an “obstructionist”. Earlier on Thursday, the chief minister requested all stakeholders to implement the court order on distribution of powers between the Delhi government and the L-G and said the verdict had clearly demarcated the areas of power sharing. Echoing the views of the chief minister, his deputy Manish Sisodia tweeted, “I want to appeal to all the stakeholders to implement the order and work together for the development of Delhi. Sought time to meet Hon’ble L-G to seek his support and cooperation in the implementation of the order of Hon’ble SC and in the development of Delhi.” He said the chief secretary had written to him, saying the services department would not follow the orders. “If they are not going to abide by it and the transfer files will still be seen by the L-G then it will amount to contempt of the Constitution Bench,” Sisodia told reporters. Earlier in the day, Kejriwal had approved the doorstep delivery of rations, overruling “all objections” to the proposal, two days after the Supreme Court verdict that clipped the powers of the L-G. The chief minister also directed the food department to immediately implement the plan. Baijal had objected to the Delhi government’s ambitious proposal of doorstep delivery of rations and asked the AAP dispensation to consult the Centre before executing it. With inputs from PTI