The battle between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor (LG) Najeeb Jung is getting uglier by the day. But what is it all about? Who fired the first shot? And why does it matter?
1. Who’re the principal characters in the Kejriwal-Jung face-off?
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, senior IAS officers Shakuntala Gamlin and Anindo Majumdar.
2. What was the Spark that lit the Explosion?
When the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, an appointee of the central government, picked Shakuntala Gamlin as the acting Delhi Chief Secretary, Arvind Kejriwal objected. The Delhi CM said it was an example of the Modi government trying to dictate its agenda through Gamlin’s appointment.
Gamlin, Kejriwal alleged, lobbied for the Reliance-owned power distribution companies to the tune of Rs 11,000 crore.
Kejriwal has also declared her appointment “unconstitutional.”
We opposed the appointment of Chief Secretary (Gamlin), but Modi’s government appointed her as CS. We have been struggling for last four days, but Modi’s government wanted to make Delhi’s government fail. The government would keep a tab on Gamlin’s work as acting Chief Secretary for the next 10 days and would ensure that every file going to the Chief Secretary’s office passes through the Chief Minister’s Office.
— Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi CM
3. What’s the Arvind Kejriwal-Najeeb Jung Fight Really About?
Since Delhi is a city-state, its jurisdiction is divided between the state government and the central government.
This isn’t the first time that Kejriwal has taken on Jung. In his last stint as the CM, Kejriwal sidestepped the Lt. Governor and tabled the Janlokpal bill in the Delhi Assembly, which ultimately led to his resignation.
This time too, Kejriwal wrote to Jung asking him to review his “questionable” decision to appoint Gamlin as the acting Chief Secretary and labelled the LG’s decision as “unconstitutional.”
The Aam Aadmi Party has now escalated the matter to the President, on the premise that not only is Gamlin’s appointment wrong, but the LG can, at best, only advise the CM and not interfere in the state government’s affairs.
4. What is Kejriwal and the Delhi Government’s Position?
On Monday Delhi Principal Secretary (Services) Anindo Majumdar found his office locked, reportedly on Kejriwal’s orders, for having cleared Shakuntala Gamlin’s appointment as Acting Chief Secretary.
The Arvind Kejriwal government also ordered the removal of Majumdar from the post of Principal Secretary (Services). Soon after, Rajendra Kumar who was earlier the Urban Development Secretary was chosen to replace Majumdar.
However, the LG’s office declared Rajendra Kumar’s appointment “null and void.”
5. Is the Centre involved?
The Centre does not rule over the affairs of the Delhi government. However, Lt. Governor Jung reports directly to the Home Ministry, and that is why Kejriwal and other members of the Delhi government have raised doubts about his intentions.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for PMO Jitender Singh added that the development has had an adverse impact on the bureaucracy.
Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) appointments are transparent and according to the norms. It is wrong to say that there is some other reason. I would request all to respect the civil servants as it has an impact on the entire services.
— Jitender Singh
6. What do Experts Say?
This latest round between Kejriwal and Jung is largely a matter of perception. While there are many who say Kejriwal is being anarchist and unreasonable, Supreme Court lawyers Rajeev Dhavan and Indira Jaising, have said that “the LG has no independent discretion in the matter.”