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Parliament had hoped LG-CM would work together in Delhi
In contrast to states where the governor is bound to act on the advice of the council of ministers, the Delhi L-G is much more powerful. He not only has the absolute power to decide on issues relating to police, public order, land and services but can also differ from the council of ministers on all other matters such as education, health and transport.
He had heard Sahib Singh lament how the Delhi chief minister was at the mercy of Raj Niwas. The lieutanant governor, he was told, wasn’t just sticking to exercising his powers over the four subjects directly under his charge — police, public order, land and services — but also questioning the CM’s decisions in other subjects as well.
When home minister Lal Krishna Advani turned to his officials, he was told that the Delhi L-G wasn’t bound by the chief minister’s views on any matter. A government official present at the meeting recalled the BJP patriarch appeared unconvinced. He told officials to get him attorney general Soli Sorabjee’s opinion.
This was in 1998, just a few weeks after Advani had taken charge as the home minister in March. Sorabjee agreed with the home ministry’s interpretation.
In contrast to states where the governor is bound to act on the advice of the council of ministers, the Delhi L-G is much more powerful.
He not only has the absolute power to decide on issues relating to police, public order, land and services but can also differ from the council of ministers on all other matters such as education, health and transport.
This means, the L-G can veto any decision taken by the chief minister on any topic. The only condition is that he will have to refer each such instance to the central government which will have the last word.
So the demand for full statehood for Delhi – articulated first by the BJP in the mid-nineties – in many ways is a little misleading.
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