Debate on Power Struggle as Delhi Assembly Begins Emergency Session

New Delhi:  The Delhi assembly began a two-day “emergency session” today in which Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are expected to debate and reject the Centre’s stand that the state government has limited powers.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia moved a resolution to discuss the Centre’s  notification on Friday asserting that the Lieutenant Governor is not obliged to consult Delhi’s council of ministers on key appointments.

AAP insists that an elected government in Delhi cannot be overlooked in key decisions, even though the Lieutenant Governor, who reports to the Centre, controls land and law and order.

Mr Kejriwal accuses the ruling BJP of trying to control Delhi with three legislators in the 70-member state assembly; the rest of the 67 lawmakers belong to AAP.

Last evening, encouraged by a Delhi High Court ruling that appeared to back AAP, Mr Kejriwal’s government transferred or reassigned nine bureaucrats, as a reward for their suggestions to improve the supply of water and power in summer.

AAP has been on the warpath since Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung appointed an officer as acting chief secretary, allegedly without consulting the Chief Minister.

The party marked its 100 days in office with a massive “public cabinet” in a sprawling park in the heart of the city, in which Mr Kejriwal declared that he would “take back powers from the Centre in this term.”

The Lieutenant Governor said last week that any postings of bureaucrats directed by the Chief Minister are invalid. For its part, Mr Kejriwal’s government, in a move that amounted to a Public Relations disaster, had a bureaucrat selected by the Lieutenant Governor locked out of his office.

The clash between the Centre and Mr Kejriwal has led to his raising the need for Delhi to be turned into a full state; currently, it is a union territory, with the centre in charge of key departments like the Police and Land.