Delhi services ordinance renders elected govt redundant: Kejriwal

The CM was addressing a press conference with CPI general secretary D Raja after seeking his support against the ordinance promulgated by the Centre

Arvind Kejriwal lashed out at the Union government’s services ordinance on Wednesday, saying it not only overturns a Supreme Court order giving the elected government power over the Capital but has provisions that “render the elected government redundant”, and effectively makes Prime Minister Narendra Modi the chief minister of Delhi.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal with Communist Party of India leader D Raja at a press conference on Wednesday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Kejriwal was addressing a press conference with Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary D Raja after seeking his support against the ordinance promulgated by the Centre on May 19.

“What will the elected government do? Why do we need elections? This dangerous ordinance has been made with malafide intentions. To sum up this ordinance in one line, Arvind Kejriwal will no longer be the CM of Delhi. The new CM of Delhi will be Narendra Modi and he will take all decisions,” Kejriwal told reporters.

Listing three provisions of the ordinance and their impact, Kejriwal said that it gives powers to secretaries to decide the fate add legality of a minister’s orders; empowers the chief secretary to decide the fate of cabinet decisions; and allows the central government to constitute 50 key commissions and boards that are the lifeline of administration such as the Delhi Jal Board (water), Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (power) and the Delhi Transport Corporation (bus transit).

Giving another example of alleged defiance, Kejriwal said, “Jhuggies were being demolished and the minister wanted to hire a senior lawyer to represent the government but the secretary refused. The secretary says that hiring a lawyer is their prerogative. Every secretary is deciding which order is legal or illegal. If they declare an order to be illegal, their decision is final... secretaries are acting like SC judges,” the CM said.

Meanwhile, Raja said that the “Union government thinks that they can rule Delhi by giving power to bureaucrats”, and stressed that his party opposes the ordinance on control of services and that it will vote against it in Parliament.

Raja added that what happened to the Delhi government could happen in any other state and therefore it was time that all non-BJP parties united. “There are a few parties who may still be figuring out what position it may take on this issue. But what is important is that this is not an issue that only pertains to the Delhi government. This can happen to any other state government,” he said.

“Left parties stand in solidarity with the people of Delhi on this issue... the Left parties in Delhi have already held a protest outside the Parliament. Inside the Parliament, we will vote against this ordinance. This is what I conveyed to Kejriwal on behalf of my party,” he said.

Last month, the President promulgated the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance 2023 which nullified the May 11 Supreme Court order that shifted the authority of controlling bureaucrats in all but three domains — land, police, and public order — to the Delhi government. The ordinance gave the LG — an official appointed by the central government — the final say on transfers and postings of bureaucrats in Delhi.

Since May 21, Kejriwal has been meeting Opposition leaders to rally support against the ordinance in the Rajya Sabha, where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party does not enjoy a clear majority. So has, he has secured the support of the Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal, Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), National Congress Party, Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Samajwadi Party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the CPI.

The largest Opposition party, the Congress, however, is yet to commit to opposing the ordinance.

Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also held a rally in Ramlila Maidan on June 10 to bolster public support against the ordinance.

Meanwhile, chief secretary Naresh Kumar said he was not aware of any specific instances of defiance by secretaries. “No such instance is in my knowledge however I will check,” Kumar said.

HT reached out to the LG office which did not respond to queries seeking a comment. Meanwhile, the BJP refused to comment on the matter.