Headlines
Centre issues notification to back Lt. Governor, AAP condemns move
New Delhi, May 22
The union government has
backed Delhi Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung and issued a notification that
makes it clear he has the power to post and transfer officials, a move
that drew quick and sharp criticism from the combative AAP government on
Friday.
The notification, issued on Thursday and made public on
Friday, states that the Delhi government "will have no executive power"
with regard to "Services" -- a reference to Indian Administrative
Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers.
The
development comes a week after a very public power tussle erupted
between Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung and the Arvind Kejriwal led AAP
government in Delhi over posting and transfer of senior officers.
The
notification also takes away the power of the Anti-Corruption Branch
(ACB) to prosecute "officiers, employees and functionaries" of the
central government.
Recently, the ACB had filed a case against a
Delhi policeman for taking a bribe. This had led to a retailiation by
the police which filed an FIR against unnamed officials for "kidnapping"
a policemen. ACB comes under the Delhi government.
The union government notification came under attack by the AAP.
Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a bureaucrat-turned-politician, said: "The
BJP first lost Delhi elections. Today's notification shows BJP's
nervousness about our anti-corruption efforts. The BJP again lost
today."
The AAP government, which came to power in February
after winning a stunning victory in the Delhi assembly election, has
been asserting its administrative powers on posting and transfer of
senior officers, particularly from the IAS.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia described the transfer and posting of the officers an "industry".
"This
notification makes it clear how much the transfer-posting industry of
Delhi is scared of us. It is a bid to save the transfer-posting
industry," he added.
The spat between Jung and the Kejriwal
government started over the appointment of senior bureaucrat Shakuntala
Gamlin as the acting chief secretary on May 15. The chief minister had
accused Gamlin of lobbying for power distribution companies in the
national capital.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, however,
defended the move and said that the central government had issued a
"clarificatory notification" about powers of elected government and the
Lt Governor.
Jaitley said during a press conference here: "The
home ministry circular (has been issued) so that no dispute remains. The
reserved powers of the central government are exercised through the Lt
Governor. The clarificatory notification is about it so that there is
no confusion."
"We do not want that offices are locked due to
confusion," Jaitley said, referring to the AAP government which had
locked the office of a senior officer apparently for following orders of
LG for appointing Shakuntala Gamlin as acting chief secretary.
The
finance minister said it was responsibility of the central government
to issue a clarification so that Delhi government is able to fulfill its
responsibilities properly.
The union government notification,
which sparked a row, stresses that the IAS and IPS officers were
administered by the central government.
"National Capital Territory of Delhi does not have its own state public services," it said.
It went on to say that 'Services' fall "outside the purview of
Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT)
and consequently the Government of NCT of Delhi will have no executive
power in relation to the above and further that power in relation to the
aforesaid subjects vests exclusively in the president or his delegate
that is Lt. Governor of Delhi".