Former CM Sheila Dikshit said the court ruling that the L-G is bound by govt’s advice was ‘not a vindication’ for AAP as ‘it has always been so’.
While welcoming the Supreme Court judgment that the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi is bound by the “aid and advice” of the elected government, the Congress also hit out at AAP and said the Arvind Kejriwal government had been using the conflict with the Centre as an alibi to hide its non-governance.
It also asked the BJP government to stop “obstructing” development in the capital. The Delhi BJP also said the AAP must now “shun its demand for statehood”. Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken said, “After the SC verdict, there should not be any charges and counter-charges by CM Kejriwal and the L-G. We now expect that more hospitals will be opened, and that the Lokpal Bill, placed in the Vidhan Sabha in February 2014, will be passed; not the diluted one. But if the chief minister continues to say that files are pending with the L-G, as they did in the case of doorstep delivery of services and CCTVs, then nothing will happen.”
The BJP said the court order is a “final warning” to the Kejriwal government to work as per the rules. “Today’s decision by the Supreme Court establishes that the Constitution is the boss in Delhi, and elsewhere in the country. It is also a final warning to the Kejriwal government to shun anarchism and follow the Constitution,” said Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari. He also claimed that the court has clarified that Delhi is the national capital and cannot have full statehood.
Senior CPI leader D Raja said the verdict was a blow to the central government. “Governors and L-Gs are not representatives of the people. They are appointees of the President… The elected government represents the will of the people… L-Gs cannot assume super powers, they cannot act as a super power,” he said.