AAP MLAs, LG office exchange barbs over charges of ‘interference in govt’

While AAP MLA Somnath Bharti, in a statement, insisted that the LG, Vinai Kumar Saxena, appeared to have made his mind to interfere in the work of the elected government, the lieutenant governor's office instead accused AAP MLAs of meeting the LG with a 'prior partisan agenda'.

New Delhi: The confrontation between Delhi’s elected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and the lieutenant governor (LG), a representative of the BJP-led Union government, has intensified further within a fortnight of new LG Vinai Kumar Saxena taking charge.

Delhi LG VK Saxena with Aam Aadmi Party MLAs after a meeting on Monday. (Source: LG Delhi Twitter handle)

Malviya Nagar MLA Somnath Bharti on Tuesday claimed that the LG dismissed appeals by nine legislators who went to meet him on Monday to express concern over his intervention on subjects under the purview of the state government. Bharti alleged that the LG said that, not just Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Delhi Police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), all matters related to Delhi come under him.

When contacted, an official from the LG office rejected the contention, and said that some MLAs went to meet the LG with a “prior partisan agenda” and sought to provoke the LG. The official also said that the LG was not but was working as a facilitator in breaking departmental silos to ensure seamless coordination for better governance.

Bharti, in a statement, insisted that the LG appeared to have made his mind to interfere in the work of the elected government. “The LG is refusing to fall in line, and has expressed his desire to continue infringing upon the Arvind Kejriwal government’s powers. The LG is crossing constitutional boundaries by claiming that not just DDA & Delhi Police, but the whole of Delhi is under his control. The attitude and body language of BJP-led Centre’s nominated LG makes it clear that he wishes to meddle with the work that people of Delhi chose CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal to do,” he said.

Jangpura MLA Praveen Kumar, who was among the MLAs who met the LG, said that he urged the LG to focus on the poor law-and-order situation, and the poor performance of DDA and MCD (bodies that come under the Centre) instead of other issues under the purview of the Delhi government. “The LG retorted by telling us to not live under this misconception, and that all subject matters are under him,” Kumar claimed.

The LG’s office hit back sharply.

“Despite politically partisan and provocative one-upmanship being exhibited by a few MLAs who came with a prior agenda, the LG has stuck to the single point agenda of non-partisan, collective, committed and concerted efforts to be taken by all for development of Delhi and well being of its people. He has made it abundantly clear that in this task, he will be working in tandem with the chief minister and had already had fruitful discussions with him on the way forward,” the official cited in the first instance added, asking not to be named.

The leader of Opposition in the Delhi assembly, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri of the BJP, also issued a statement defending the LG. “The LG wants to take care of Delhi like a guardian, but AAP leaders are behaving as if someone is catching their theft,” Bidhuri said.

Within a week of Saxena taking charge on May 26 -- he held a series of meetings with officials from various departments in this period -- AAP leaders accused him of “overstepping his jurisdiction” and interfering with bodies such as the Delhi Jal Board, which falls under the preview of the Delhi government. To be sure, parts of Delhi have been witnessing significant water problems, with DJB struggling to manage the crisis.

Saxena’s predecessors Anil Baijal and Najeeb Jung and the Delhi government were also locked in bitter power tussles since the AAP swept to power in 2015.

A Constitution bench of the Supreme Court in July 2018 held that the executive power of the Union government in respect of NCT of Delhi is confined to land, police and public order under subsection 3 of Article 239AA.

Supreme Court last month referred the festering dispute between the Delhi government and the Centre over whether the LG or the elected government should have the power to transfer and post bureaucrats to a Constitution Bench. The 2018 verdict of the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court did not provide authoritative interpretation of certain parts of Article 239AA(3), which led to rival contentions from both sides with respect to their power to control bureaucrats in the national capital.

The verdict was later challenged by the AAP government. A division bench in 2019 delivered a ruling on specific points of contentions between the Centre and Delhi but the two judges had contrasting opinions as to who wields power on the Delhi bureaucracy. Therefore, the matter related to Services (transfer and appointments of bureaucrats) was referred to a three-judge bench.

The Supreme Court has now clarified that the new five-judge bench shall adjudicate the limited issue relating to ‘Services’ in Delhi and that no other substantial issue on interpretation of Article 239AA will be adjudicated afresh since they stand settled by the 2018 judgment.

The Government of National Capital Territory (GNCTD) Amendment Act, 2021 came into force on March 29, 2021 aimed at further defining the responsibilities of the elected government and LG and ensure better governance in the national capital. The law accorded primacy to the LG over the elected government and stated that “government” in Delhi will now refer to the LG in the context of all laws passed in the capital, and the opinion of the LG will be mandatory before any executive action.

Due to the matter being referred to the Constitution bench, the Delhi government’s separate challenge to the 2021 amendment in the NCT of Delhi Act will have to wait till the Constitution bench’s decision on ‘Services’.