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".