NEW DELHI: After nearly 48 hours of the Supreme Court judgment, the Delhi Chief Minister and the Lieutenant Governor held a 25-minute closed-door meeting on Friday where the LG assured every cooperation from his side.
However, CM Arvind Kejriwal claimed that LG Anil Baijal had refused to give Delhi government control over the transfer and posting of bureaucrats because of a 2015 order of the home ministry that handed "services" to the Lieutenant Governor.
"Met Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. Assured them of my continued support and cooperation in the interest of good governance and overall development of Delhi as per the letter and spirit of Constitution," LG Baijal tweeted.
In response, CM Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, "Thank you, sir. All of us should work together for the development of Delhi. The constitution is supreme. Orders of SC become the law of the land. They must be respected."
Meanwhile, a communique from the LG office said, "The MHA has advised that as per concluding paras of judgement, the nine appeals including the one relating to 'Services' shall be taken up by a Supreme Court bench and the MHA notification dated May 25, 2015, continues to be valid".
However, later the CM alleged, "LG sought advice from home ministry which told him that services should not be given to Delhi government. It is the first time in the history of India that the Central government has openly refused to obey the SC's order..."
Later on Friday the ministry of Home Affairs termed chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's statement on Delhi L-G seeking advice from MHA 'msleading'. "MHA has not advised LG to ignore any part of SC order. This is a misleading statement," a statement from MHA observed.