Delhi govt welcomes Rajya Sabha debate on conflict between Lt Governor, Chief Minister

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has welcomed the Rajya Sabha debate on the frequent 'conflicts' that arise between the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Minister on Friday.

Commenting on the new development, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said it was good to see that the conflict and problem with which the elected city government faced has reached the Parliament of India.

The observation came as the turf war between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal touched a new low, with a Rajya Sabha member claiming that the chief minister was being treated like a "peon".

Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien, who was chairing the proceedings, requested Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, to try and sort out the friction between the duo.

As the issue dominated the discussion on a bill related to Delhi, a number of opposition members raised the matter of the chief minister not being invited to the inauguration of Metro's Magenta Line.

"I have a suggestion for you. You please take initiative to sort out the friction between the Lt Governor and the Chief Minister," Kurien told Puri after a number of members raised the issue of power tussle between them.

Puri accepted it as a "bigger challenge" than challenges faced by him during his four-decades of public life that included negotiations with terrorists.

Senior Rajya Sabha member Ram Gopal Yadav said, "When the minister was saying that the inauguration was done in the UP sector, I was silent.

"All those who possess general knowledge had the objection to it as when the Delhi Metro is executing it, the Delhi Chief Minister should have been invited... This is a wrong precedent."

Verma cited one such instance during former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's regime wherein Vajpayee had refused to attend a function till the chief minister of the state was invited to be a part of it.

Simple traditions and courtesies should be followed," Yadav said.