Hours within the Delhi government issued a press statement, calling the appointment unconstitutional’ and alleged the officer ‘lobbying’ for power companies, the L-G office also issued a counter press statement, holding the constitutional validity of the appointment and calling the government’s approach as ‘regrettable’.
“The Lieutenant-Governor regrets the name of a senior officer being brought in public domain in such a manner, that too a lady officer and one belonging to the North East,” said the L-G secretariat in a hard-worded statement. “There was nothing on the file submitted to the L-G that indicated that the government had anything against Gamlin,” added the statement. “The release is to clarify that the action of the Lt.-Governor is within the Constitution of India,” added the statement. In its press <g data-gr-id="30">statement</g> the Directorate of Publicity of Delhi government has termed the appointment by L-G as extraordinary, unilateral and unconstitutional. In its clarification the L- G office held the validity of the appointment by quoting Article 239 AA of the Constitution, under which the L-G is the representative of the state authority in Delhi and is competent to designate the officiating Chief Secretary in consultation with the Chief Minister.
Explaining the background of the appointment the L-G office said that the file for the posting of the officiating Chief Secretary was submitted to the L-G on the evening of 13 May 2015 and was cleared immediately. He approved the name of Shakuntala Gamlin as against the name proposed by the CM considering she was senior and has a proven track record. The name proposed by the Chief Minister did not figure in the list of names submitted by the Services Department and the concerned officer has not even been given a posting by the Delhi Government so far,” argued the L-G secretariat. It further clarified that the L-G had had to order the Services Department to make the appointment since the office of the Chief Secretary cannot be left <g data-gr-id="40">inordinately</g> vacant.
The Chief Minister had not cleared the file that had the LG’s <g data-gr-id="80">advise</g> for over 36 hours. The Chief Minister’s office has alleged the Gamblin to be close to <g data-gr-id="82">be</g> extremely close to electricity companies in Delhi and was lobbying for their interests within the Government.
The Lieutenant Governor gave her the charge hours after she wrote a scathing letter to the LG accusing Kejriwal’s secretary Rajendra Kumar of making a telephone call asking her not be in <g data-gr-id="87">race</g> for the post. She also accused the AAP government of casting aspersions on her integrity to service and levelling false charges.
Slamming the move, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government said the Lieutenant <g data-gr-id="88">Governorcannot</g> bypass the elected government and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and that he acted against “the Constitution, GNCT of Delhi Act and the Transaction of Business Rules.”
“The Lt Governor by-passed the elected Government, the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister (who also acts as the Minister in-charge of Services department). The Lt Governor does not have the extraordinary powers under the Constitution to bypass the elected Government and issue instructions directly to the Secretaries, whatever be the provocation,” the city government said in a statement
Chief Secretary KK Sharma has left for the US on a personal visit due to which the government had to appoint an acting Chief Secretary.
Senior bureaucrats Naini Jayaseelan, IAS officer of 1980 batch, Arvind Ray and S P Singh were in <g data-gr-id="83">race</g> for acting Chief Secretary’s post.