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Delhi AAP hails SC verdict: ‘Today, people won’
Senior AAP functionaries, in a series of press conferences on Thursday, said that the verdict will strengthen democracy and make the bureaucrats accountable to the people of Delhi
The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court (SC) verdict regarding administrative services in Delhi and called it “a victory of the people of Delhi and the culmination of eight years of legal struggle”.
Senior AAP functionaries, in a series of press conferences on Thursday, said that the verdict will strengthen democracy and make the bureaucrats accountable to the people of Delhi.
In a joint press conference with the cabinet ministers, Delhi AAP convener and environment minister Gopal Rai said that the SC verdict was a victory of the people of Delhi against the Centre’s campaign to destabilise elected governments across the country.
“The people of Delhi have won. The central government was running a campaign to destabilise the elected governments across the country and the SC has curtailed it. Defying the earlier SC orders, the lieutenant governor (LG) and home ministry were taking away the constitutional rights of the elected government. The officers in Delhi and the projects of the AAP government were being threatened and paralysed,” Rai said.
The SC order may also act as a shot in the arm for the party in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. A senior AAP worker said that while the government will be able to expedite the pace of the flagship schemes and projects, the SC order will reinvigorate the party for elections.
“Ultimately, we are answerable to people and if the government cannot deliver on the guarantees, then the pitch for the next election is also not strong. Even in the 2020 assembly elections, we showcased the projects carried out before the 2018 amendment to the GNCTD Act. We have been showcasing the flagship schemes of free electricity, water, etc., in all other state elections as well. Success in Delhi can be taken forward by party workers to other parts of the country,” the AAP functionary said.
Urban development minister Saurabh Bhardwaj who also holds the services portfolio said that an eight-year-long fight, which started in 2015, has finally concluded. “It is clear the judiciary and the SC will not allow the Constitution to be violated,” Bhardwaj added.
Meanwhile, Delhi education minister and Kalkaji MLA Atishi said that the SC has allowed progress to happen in Delhi. “Now, no one will be able to create hurdles before the projects. The court has delivered a pro-democracy verdict,” Atishi said.
Responding to a question about LG VK Saxena seeking a report on the renovation of the CM’s house, Atishi said that the LG can now see the files related to the project but he has no authority to take any decision regarding the matter. “He is bound by aid and advice of the cabinet. He can see the papers and return them,” she added.
AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh said that the BJP-led central government wasted eight years. “They created obstacles in every single work of elected government. The elected government now has all the rights, not the LG,” Singh said.
Another AAP MP, Raghav Chadha, said that the SC judgment has sent a stern message that officers working with the Delhi government are meant to serve the people of Delhi. “The officers cannot serve unelected usurpers parachuted by the Centre to stall governance like the LG,” Chadha said.
