‘Present government should know Delhi’s limitations’: Ex-CM Dikshit on SC verdict

Reacting to the split verdict of the Supreme Court on Thursday, on the contentious issue of the control of services in the national capital, former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said her government had worked with the same limitations.

Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit, who headed the state government for 15 years, said the present government should know Delhi’s limitations and, instead of getting into a tussle with the Centre, work for the people of Delhi within its limits.

Former chief minister Sheila Dikshit said the SC verdict is binding but if the AAP government has an issue with the court order, then it can take legal recourse. (Sonu Mehta/HT Photo)

Reacting to the split verdict of the Supreme Court on Thursday, on the contentious issue of the control of services in the national capital, Dikshit said her government had worked with the same limitations.

“The Constitution of India has defined the powers of Delhi. It is not unlimited and it never was. Some powers lie with the Union government, which controls it through the lieutenant-governor and some powers are with the state government,” Dikshit explained.

She said the SC verdict is binding but if the AAP government has an issue with the court order, then it can take legal recourse.

“Even during our tenure, we used to send our proposals to the L-G, some were accepted and some were sent back. You had to deal with it and keep working for the people of Delhi. If the government does not work, then they (Delhi residents) are the ultimate sufferers,” Dikshit said.

Although the elected government in the national capital has always worked with limited powers, things went downhill for the AAP government after an order from the ministry of home affairs in 2015, which vested the power to transfer and post officials with the L-G.

Senior officials, who have worked with the Delhi government under Dikshit, said transfers and postings of senior officers during her time were still decided by the L-G but the CM was consulted and kept in the loop. For other officers, the CM’s office would make the call and the list would be communicated to the L-G.

“There was an understanding between the CM and the L-G, which recognised each other’s control and powers,” a retired bureaucrat said, on condition of anonymity.