MCD tussle: Kejriwal accuses LG of bypassing elected govt, misusing officers
Citing three instances, Kejriwal said that the LG bypassed the elected government of Delhi in nominating 10 aldermen in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, appointing the presiding officer to conduct MCD House on the opening day, and in constituting the Delhi State Haj Committee
Shortly after Delhi’s mayoral elections were held up by clashes inside the civic centre on Friday, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal accused Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena of “illegally” encroaching upon the rights of the elected government, “bypassing” it, and getting “bizzare directions” implemented by “misusing” the bureaucracy.
He said that even as the LG was “issuing orders” on every subject including the ones he has “powers to do or not”, bureuacrats were protesting “privately and in a muted voice”. Citing three instances, Kejriwal said that the LG bypassed the elected government of Delhi in nominating 10 aldermen in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, appointing the presiding officer to conduct MCD House on the opening day, and in constituting the Delhi State Haj Committee.
The LG secretariat and chief secretary Naresh Kumar did not comment on the matter.
“For instance, as per Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 10 members with specialised knowledge could be nominated by the state government. Till date, for the last many decades, these 10 members were always nominated by the elected government of Delhi. This practice was followed by the previous LG, Anil Baijal also. However, the present LG, one morning, dictated 10 names (obviously all with BJP background) and directed the chief secretary to issue notification. The chief secretary complied,” Kejriwal wrote to the LG in a three-page letter dated January 6, a copy of which was shared by the CM on Twitter. “Since this is a transferred subject, as per the Constitution, it is the elected government which has the power to nominate these members,” he added.
Kejriwal made the letter public after the adjournment of the first day of the civic centre when the oath was to be administered to the newly elected councillors. After AAP and BJP councillors came to blows, the House was adjourned, stalling the mayoral election.
The appointment of Satya Sharma, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor, to preside over the first meeting of the MCD House also prompted the Aam Aadmi Party to criticise the LG. Kejriwal wrote in the letter: “As per Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, one of the councillors is nominated as presiding officer for administering oath to all councillors on the first day and for conducting the election of mayor, after which the mayor takes over.”
“Tradition has been that the senior most member of the House, irrespective of party affiliations, is nominated by the state govt for this job. This time, one morning, Hon’ble LG dictated the name of some BJP councillor and directed the chief secretary to issue notification… The person nominated is not the senior most member. Therefore, the erstwhile tradition was also thrown to the winds.”
Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had recommended the AAP’s Mukesh Kumar Goel, who became a councillor for the sixth term, for the position of the presiding officer and urged the LG to go by the decision of the council of ministers.
The power tussle between the Centre and the Delhi government dates back to 2015, when the AAP stormed to power and a confrontation began between the then LG and the AAP government over the appointment of bureaucrats amid several other administrative and governance issues. A Constitution bench of the Supreme Court in July 2018 held that the executive power of the Union government with respect of National Capital Territory of Delhi is confined to land, police and public order under subsection 3 of Article 239AA.
“In another similar bizarre matter, one morning, Hon’ble LG dictated the names of Delhi Haj Committee and directed the chief secretary to issue notification. Again, this is a transferred subject and only elected govt has the power to constitute Haj Committee. However, the elected govt was bypassed,” Kejriwal’s letter said.
“Last few weeks have seen some very bizarre developments. LG is directly issuing orders on practically every subject irrespective of whether it is reserved or transferred, irrespective of whether LG has the powers to do that or not. LG issues directions directly to the chief secretary who in turn gets them implemented completely bypassing and ignoring the elected government,” Kejriwal said.”
Kejriwal said that the elected government is directly accountable to the people, and appealed to the LG to allow the elected government to work for the people and respect the Constitution.
