LG VK Saxena usurping power of elected government: CM Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: The simmering power tussle between chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and lieutenant governor VK Saxena came to the surface yet again on Friday with the CM accusing the LG of undermining an elected government by extending his jurisdiction.
In a letter to Saxena on Friday, Kejriwal said the LG had been using his power to suspend officials to bypass the elected government and usurp its power. “As per the Constitution of India, there is a democratically elected government in Delhi. Barring three reserved subjects: police, public order and land, the executive control over all other subjects in the Concurrent and State lists lie with the elected government,” he wrote.
“Last few weeks have seen some very bizarre developments. The LG is directly issuing orders on practically every subject irrespective of whether it is reserved or transferred, irrespective of whether the LG has the powers to do that or not,” Kejriwal added. Saxena issues directions directly to the chief secretary, who, in turn, gets them implemented completely bypassing and ignoring the elected government, he said.
Such things are happening, Kejriwal claimed, as the LG has power to transfer, suspend or take any other action against any employee of Delhi government. “Unfortunately, the elected government of Delhi has no control over employees. Therefore, Delhi government officers do not have the courage to say no to the LG even if his orders are completely bizarre,” he said.
There has been constant friction between Saxena and Kejriwal since the former assumed office as the city’s constitutional head. He set up several inquiries to probe alleged charges of corruption against ministers and officers in Delhi government even as the AAP government accused him of meddling with the constitutional framework and acting as the spokesperson of a particular party.
Referring to the issue of BJP MP Gautam Gambhir and Congress councillor Naziya Danish being elected as members of the Haj Committee, the chief minister later tweeted, “LG dictated these names and directly got notification issued by officers. No process, no elected govt? Constitution thrown to the wind. Sir, just because you control bureaucracy through ‘services’, you are able to get all your illegal directions implemented.”
Gambhir hit back, saying, “Kejriwal who has always broken all protocols and processes suddenly is saying that he cares about them. I want to say that he should not worry, all required processes were followed.”
Bringing up the issue of the 10 aldermen being nominated to the municipal corporation by the LG, Kejriwal wrote in the letter that it was usurping the power earlier held by the state government. “As per Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 10 members with specialised knowledge could be nominated by the state government. Till date, these 10 members were always nominated by the elected government. However, the present LG, one morning, dictated 10 names (obviously all with BJP background) and directed the chief secretary to issue notification. Chief secretary complied. Elected government came to know from the newspapers,” he said.
“Likewise, as per Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, one of the councillors is nominated as the presiding officer for administering oath to all councillors on the first day. Tradition has been that the senior-most member of the house, irrespective of the party affiliations, is nominated by the state government for this job. This time, LG dictated the name of some BJP councillor and directed the chief secretary to issue notification,” he said.