NEW DELHI: The battle of attrition between the AAP government and Delhi's bureaucrats is far from over even after the Supreme Court ruled that the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi doesn't need the Lieutenant Governor's sign-off on every decision.
The Delhi CM on Thursday wrote to the Lieutenant Governor on Thursday after bureaucrats snubbed his government just hours after the Supreme Court ruling.
"Till now, files on almost every subject used to be sent to the LG for his concurrence. Now, files would not be required to be sent. However, all decisions shall be duly communicated to the LG," the Chief Minister wrote.
The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the AAP government doesn't need the Lieutenant Governor's permission at every step. Hours after the court ruling, which was described by AAP as a significant victory, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia put out orders taking back the power to transfer officers, but the services department rejected it, saying that the Lt. Governor remains in charge of this crucial department.
Sisodia has said AAP is exploring legal options after bureaucrats rejected its order as "legally incorrect". The Supreme Court ruled that the Lt Governor has no "independent decision-making power" beyond land, police and public order, and has to act on the aid and advice of the elected government, which has the real power.
The Delhi CM wrote: "The centre and LG have executive powers only on three subjects. On all other subjects, executive powers lie with the council of ministers."
The note from the Services department said the Supreme Court had not yet cancelled a union home ministry notification in May 2015 - months after AAP swept the elections and took power - assigning the job of transferring and posting bureaucrats to the L-G.
This means despite the Supreme Court's ruling; officials are firm that the Delhi government still has any role only in the movement of personnel at a lower level, like stenos. Officials say the Supreme Court is yet deciding the subject, so the Kejriwal government cannot jump the gun.
The services department has been a bone of contention behind the AAP-LG feud in the past three years. The first significant face-off was over the Lt Governor appointing bureaucrat Shakuntala Gamlin as the interim chief secretary despite strong objections from Kejriwal and AAP. See P3