The Lieutenant Governor acts as the representative of the Centre in Delhi and is vested with considerable powers because the capital is a union territory, not a state. Mr Kejriwal, who smashed records with an outsized win in February’s election, says the Lieutenant Governor’s role is being further expanded by the Centre which wants to govern Delhi by proxy.
He received considerable back up earlier this week when the Delhi High Court denounced as “suspect” a notification by the Centre which outlined vast authority for the Lieutenant Governor and downsized the operating space of Mr Kejriwal. The Centre has appealed against the High Court’s verdict in the top court.
An especially sore point of dispute between Mr Jung and the Chief Minister is the appointment of top bureaucrats. Mr Jung claims he alone can decide on their postings, a stand endorsed by the Centre’s notification that was issued last week. Mr Kejriwal says he cannot be saddled with officers who have not been selected in consultation with him.
The Centre has also declared that its employees and officers cannot be investigated for venality by Delhi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau, which reports to the Chief Minister. The High Court has said that’s incorrect. Mr Kejriwal has said the Centre is “desperate to shield its corrupt officers.”
An emergency session of the Delhi Assembly has taken stock of the crisis with the Centre and declared the contentious notification as “illegal”. The voluble support for Mr Kejriwal there is not unexpected – his party has all but three seats.
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