INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: The much-awaited conference in between chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and lieutenant governor V K Saxena on Friday stopped
working to produce a detente and only led to more acrimony
Dealing with an interview after the meeting, the CM said he showed a number of court rulings to the LG, consisting of the Supreme Court
judgment of 2018, to worry on the fact that he was bound by the help and advice of the council of ministers and had no independent power,
but the latter insisted that being the administrator of Delhi he was free to call for any file and provide directions.LGs interference in
govt obstructionist: CM KejriwalAfter fulfilling the LG, CM Kejriwal alleged at an interview that V K Saxena described the judgment of the
constitution bench of the Supreme Court as an opinion and claimed that he refused to accept it
I beseech the LG to select a capable and discovered constitutional consultant in his team to inform him that Supreme Court orders are
binding, said the CM.At loggerheads on different problems of governance emanating out of department of powers in between the constitutional
head and the elected federal government, Kejriwal called on Saxena at Raj Niwas on Friday after a space of nearly 3 months
The LG had actually invited him for the conference to promote deliberative and conflict-free governance in the capital.The idea was to
go over different provisions of the Constitution, acts and court judgments threadbare and discover an open option to work in tandem however
the meeting probably stopped working to serve the purpose.Kejriwal said he shared copies of the relevant areas of acts and the views of
courts on balance of power, insisting that the LG was bound to act upon the aid and guidance of the council of ministers on all transferable
topics discussed in the Constitution
But the LG insisted that being the administrator of Delhi, he had supreme powers and was complimentary to call any main or any file he
When I asked him if the President of India acted in the very same way with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he was showing me, the LG said
that was a various case, the chief minister added.Kejriwal said the LGs interference in his government was obstructionist and a strong
deterrent in the fulfilment of the needs and ambitions of the people of Delhi
The primary minister stated his intention behind going for the meeting was to weed out any individual differences or any misconception or
misunderstanding of the Constitution and the court orders, laws and other statutes
I even carried copies of the Constitution, Motor Vehicles Act, GNCTD Act, School Education Act and all pertinent judgments of the Supreme
Court to go over with him
The constitution bench of the Supreme Court had in July 2018 passed an order stating that the LG has actually not been turned over with any
independent decision-making power
The LG stated the SCs order was merely a viewpoint and it did not use to him, the CM said.Kejriwal said he raised the problems of
prohibited sealing of workplace of Delhi Dialogue Commission VC Jasmine Shah, unconstitutional visit of the presiding officer and 10
aldermen in MCD, illegal recovery notice of Rs 164 crore towards ads, stopping of training tour of teachers to Finland and yoga classes
amongst others.On the LG asking for cost-benefit analysis of instructors foreign training programs, Kejriwal stated it was part of
nation-building and might not be quantified.The chief minister said he told LG how payments across all departments in the past 3 months had
been stopped by the officers resulting in stalling of a number of developmental work, consisting of building and construction of sewage and
water treatment plants and payment of incomes of physicians, bus marshals and hospital staffers, pension of retired DTC staff members,
electrical energy subsidy and old-age pensions
When confronted, the officers state that the LGs office indirectly pressed them to do so
All of this took place three months before the MCD elections to harm AAP
I asked him why he did so, however he denied involvement in it, stated Kejriwal.Emphasising that it was not a great precedence to
politicise the life and survival of Delhiites, Kejriwal stated the LG should respect the Supreme Court judgment which said he did not have
any independent decision-making power and had to abide by it
He must appreciate the court and the Constitution, he said.
