Headlines
Jung, AAP government spat again - over DCW chief
New Delhi, July 22
Delhi's Lt. Governor Najeeb
Jung and the AAP government were locked in another spat on Wednesday,
with Jung rejecting the city government's appointment of Swati Maliwal
as the new chief of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW).
In an
unrelated development, the Aam Aadmi Party mounted a fresh attack on
Delhi Police, saying a police bus tried to run over its leader Dilip
Pandey.
Jung, after a meeting with AAP leaders on Wednesday evening, promised to take up the issue with Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi.
Jung's
office said the appointment of Maliwal, a social activist and the wife
of an AAP leader, was "in breach of rules and procedures" and "had no
legal sanctity". The Delhi government said it acted well within its
powers.
Maliwal, who took charge on Monday, said she has not
received any formal communication from Jung's office. "There could be a
few technical glitches but I have not received any formal communication
yet."
She insisted that she should not be seen merely as the wife
of AAP leader Naveen Jaihind, a loyal supporter of Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal.
"I have been working at the grassroots level for women and will keep doing that even if I don't hold this position."
Maliwal said her aim was to see a Delhi where women felt safe even at midnight.
Delhi's Labour Minister Gopal Rai said Maliwal's appointment "was within the (parameters of the) constitution".
Jung's office disagreed. It said the notification about her appointment was issued without his approval.
"All statutory notifications for the reconstitution of the DCW in the past had the approval of the Lt. Governor of Delhi.
"As
the notification in question has been issued without (such) approval,
the competent authority, in breach of rules and procedures, the
notification has no legal sanctity and any action taken by the
chairperson or any member of the (DCW), including quasi-judicial
decisions, would be ultra vires and infructuous."
Maliwal
succeeded Barkha Singh, a Congress functionary who had repeated run-ins
with the Kejriwal government as well as two AAP leaders - Kumar Vishwas
and Somnath Bharti.
Jung and the AAP government have been
involved in public spats even earlier, primarily over the Delhi
government's powers to appoint and shift officials.
After the
incident involving Dilip Pandey late on Tuesday, the AAP accused Delhi
Police -- which reports to the Lt. Governor and the central home
ministry and not to the Delhi government -- of acting at the behest of
the Narendra Modi government.
"Delhi Police is working as the
Modi government's tool in the national capital," AAP leader Sanjay Singh
said. "It is dancing to the tunes of the central government."
An
AAP delegation led by Sanjay Singh called on Jung on Wednesday evening
and handed him a CD and "other evidence" to back charges that a police
bus indeed tried to crush Pandey.
"The Lt. Governor promised to talk to the police commissioner to ensure action is taken against the culprit," Sanjay Singh said.
Pandey
and the AAP alleged that the incident happened while he was speaking
with journalists outside the Rajendra Nagar police station on Tuesday
evening -- after an earlier AAP protest against the murder of a teenager
last week.