Centre is trying to run Delhi govt through L-G: Kejriwal accuses PM Modi in letter

After taking his complaints over the functioning of the state’s Lieutenant Governor to President Pranab Mukherjee, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has now shot off  a letter to the Prime Minister where has said that the central government shouldn’t interfere in the working of the state government. In his letter to the Prime Minister, the Delhi chief minister has said that the central government was trying to run the Delhi government and should refrain from doing so, reported CNN-IBN. Kejriwal mentioned the posting and transfers made by Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and said the elected government must have a say about distribution of work to senior officials. “In Delhi, Central government is trying to run government unconstitutionally through the Lt Governor. Let Delhi government function independently,” Kejriwal said in the letter to Modi. [caption id=“attachment_2253754” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  PTI image[/caption] “The Centre is trying to run the Delhi government through the L-G,” the letter reportedly states. The letter was written to the Prime Minister last evening when Kejriwal also met with the president to express his concerns over the Lieutenant-Governor’s decision to appoint IAS official Shakuntala Gamlin acting chief secretary of Delhi despite his government’s opposition to it. After meeting with the president, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia told reporters that the Lieutenant Governor’s actions were ’not good for democracy’. “We told the President that we accepted LG’s decision to appoint acting Chief Secretary even without consulting us. But after that too, he has been appointing officers bypassing the elected government. He is even interfering in the appointments of secretaries and directly ordering them. Then where is the democracy,” Sisodia told reporters after meeting Mukherjee. Describing the meeting with Mukherjee as “good”, Sisodia said, “We have requested him (President) to ask him (L-G) to not do what he is doing. President listened to us carefully and I hope that he will look into this matter.” “We told President that Lt Governor is acting as if there is President’s rule in Delhi. The main thing is that he is directing officers directly. In the last one week, he has directly ordered officers at least four times, bypassing chief minister, ministers, Council of ministers,” he said. On Tuesday, Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung had also met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and the President on the issue and informed him about his stand-off with the AAP government. with inputs from PTI