New Delhi: Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Friday approved a proposal of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to terminate the services of all civil defence volunteers with effect from November 1 this year, with AAP government sources saying they will approach the Supreme Court if this happens, setting off a fresh tussle between the two sides.
The lieutenant governor also directed the chief minister to consider recruiting the volunteers to be terminated as Home Guards. The development came hours after the chief minister asked Delhi Home Minister Kailash Gahlot to appoint the civil defence volunteers as Home Guards and depute them as bus marshals.
“Approving the proposal to end the CDVs’ illegal recruitment and deployment, Saxena has raised serious livelihood concerns and directed the CM that the CDVs who lose their job in the process should be considered for appointment as Home Guards, about 10,000 positions of whom, the L-G has approved recently,” an official at L-G Secretariat said.
The L-G has also flagged the issue of the CDVs not getting their salary for the past six to seven months and expressed dissatisfaction over the fact the relevant file was sent to him even though the minister concerned and the chief minister were fully competent to take a decision on it on their own, he added. Following the
development, AAP government sources said they will approach the apex court.
“If Delhi L-G terminates the services of civil defence volunteers, we will approach the Supreme Court. Some of these volunteers are deployed as bus marshals, who play a crucial role in ensuring women’s safety on buses. We will not compromise on women’s safety,” said a government source.
L-G office sources, on the other hand, accused the AAP government sources of “spreading lies” and sharing “misleading” information. “The proposal to terminate civil defence volunteers was sent to L-G office by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, which was only approved by the Lt Governor. Will Delhi government go to Supreme Court against the chief minister?” an L-G office source said. The L-G office sources said the proposal to terminate the services of civil defence volunteers was received on October 20. However, the government source claimed no such proposal was sent to the L-G Office by the Chief Minister’s Office. With pti inputs