he Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government’s attempt to earn a favourable judicial verdict in its stand-off with the Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) has ended in a conclusive setback for the elected government. The Delhi high court ruled that the Council of Ministers must communicate all decisions taken by it to the L-G and quashed a series of notifications that the Kejriwal government had issued without the L-G’s concurrence. In the process, a host of orders issued by the Delhi government with relation to hiking circle rates, announcing of commissions of inquiry, nominating directors to power discoms, and directing discoms to compensate consumers for power cuts have been set aside. Conversely, the court also said that the L-G was not bound to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers and enjoyed certain discretionary powers. In essence, the high court has ruled that Delhi continues to be a Union territory despite having a legislative assembly.
Since coming to power in February 2015, Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party have led a forceful campaign demanding that the Centre take a back seat and allow the Delhi government to function in line with the mandate given by the people. However, Kejriwal’s confrontational approach has hardly helped his cause and prompted the Centre and the L-G to push back fiercely. The confusion over who holds greater powers in Delhi has been aggravated by differing interpretations of Article 239 and 239AA of the Constitution, the Government of NCT of Delhi Act, and the Transaction of Business Rules -- all of which govern various aspects of the powers, responsibilities and the procedures to be followed by the Council of Ministers, the L-G and the Centre. As a result, the AAP and the L-G clashed on the powers of the AAP government to appoint and transfer officers of its choice in government departments and the procedure to be followed on ratifying cabinet decisions.
There is no doubt that there is a political angle to the constitutional imbroglio. By projecting itself as a holier-than-thou political alternative with a radical anti-corruption agenda, the AAP has been looked down upon with suspicion by the earlier UPA and the present NDA government. The Janlokpal Act passed by the 49-day AAP government overreached itself by allowing for the prosecution of central government officers. The AAP’s political immaturity and pandering to crass populism was also evident in the FIR lodged by the Anti-Corruption Bureau on alleged irregularities in oil extraction in the KG basin. Such intemperate actions, aimed at short-term political gains, have only come back to harm the AAP.
However, the Centre must also learn to draw the line and allow the Delhi government to function smoothly in those realms of governance which should not be needlessly politicised. The searches on the Chief Minister’s Office, the seizure of files, and the manner in which Kejriwal’s close aide and bureaucrat Rajendra Kumar was arrested had cast the CBI in a bad light. Since then, a number of AAP MLAs have been arrested or are under the Delhi Police scanner for alleged criminal activity or irregularities. Kejriwal must make peace with the fact that Delhi does not have full statehood and that the Government of India will always enjoy administrative clout in Delhi, which is also the capital of the country. Predictably, the legal fight will now move to the Supreme Court but it is unlikely that another court will arrive at a different verdict.
EditorialAnalysisdna
· dna edit
· AAP Government
· Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
· Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)
· Rajendra Kumar
· Delhi Police
· Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung
· Arvind Kejriwal
Fri, 5 Aug 2016-08:05am
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Friday, 5 August 2016 - 8:05am
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Since coming to power in February 2015, Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party have led a forceful campaign demanding that the Centre take a back seat and allow the Delhi government to function in line with the mandate given by the people. However, Kejriwal’s confrontational approach has hardly helped his cause and prompted the Centre and the L-G to push back fiercely. The confusion over who holds greater powers in Delhi has been aggravated by differing interpretations of Article 239 and 239AA of the Constitution, the Government of NCT of Delhi Act, and the Transaction of Business Rules -- all of which govern various aspects of the powers, responsibilities and the procedures to be followed by the Council of Ministers, the L-G and the Centre. As a result, the AAP and the L-G clashed on the powers of the AAP government to appoint and transfer officers of its choice in government departments and the procedure to be followed on ratifying cabinet decisions.
There is no doubt that there is a political angle to the constitutional imbroglio. By projecting itself as a holier-than-thou political alternative with a radical anti-corruption agenda, the AAP has been looked down upon with suspicion by the earlier UPA and the present NDA government. The Janlokpal Act passed by the 49-day AAP government overreached itself by allowing for the prosecution of central government officers. The AAP’s political immaturity and pandering to crass populism was also evident in the FIR lodged by the Anti-Corruption Bureau on alleged irregularities in oil extraction in the KG basin. Such intemperate actions, aimed at short-term political gains, have only come back to harm the AAP.
However, the Centre must also learn to draw the line and allow the Delhi government to function smoothly in those realms of governance which should not be needlessly politicised. The searches on the Chief Minister’s Office, the seizure of files, and the manner in which Kejriwal’s close aide and bureaucrat Rajendra Kumar was arrested had cast the CBI in a bad light. Since then, a number of AAP MLAs have been arrested or are under the Delhi Police scanner for alleged criminal activity or irregularities. Kejriwal must make peace with the fact that Delhi does not have full statehood and that the Government of India will always enjoy administrative clout in Delhi, which is also the capital of the country. Predictably, the legal fight will now move to the Supreme Court but it is unlikely that another court will arrive at a different verdict.
EditorialAnalysisdna
· dna edit
· AAP Government
· Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
· Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)
· Rajendra Kumar
· Delhi Police
· Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung
· Arvind Kejriwal
Fri, 5 Aug 2016-08:05am
Date updated:
Friday, 5 August 2016 - 8:05am
Article Images:
Short URL:
dnai.in/dvh4
Embargo:
Syndicate:
Hide lead image:
Page views:
1
From Print Edition: Reported by DNA 49 seconds ago.