Transcending politics

Sheila Dikshit was the Chief Minister of Delhi for 15 years but she never fought with officers. Arvind Kejriwal has been the Chief Minister of Delhi for almost 10 years, and he fights everyday!

Though this comparison keeps popping up, the key question is: why does Delhi continue to be the way it is today? Let us look at the answer and find possible solutions.

First thing first. During the Sheila Dikshit era, only three subjects—Police, Law & order and Land— were out of her purview. The department that controls posting, transfer and disciplinary matters of the government officers and employees, under the subject “service”, was within the domain of her government. Therefore, officers were directly accountable to the minister in charge. That any officer could defy the directions of a minister was unthinkable.

On the contrary, within three months of Arvind Kejriwal taking oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi in 2015, the Union Home Ministry issued a notification by which “service” was taken away from the purview of his government and handed over to the Lieutenant Governor. It took eight long years of legal battle to finally get that restored to the Kejriwal Government in May 2023, only to be taken back by the Central government within days—first through an ordinance and then by a parliamentary legislation. The eagerness of the Central government to keep control over Delhi’s officers is a testimony to the fact that they wanted to cripple its administration and create a public perception that the AAP government is ineffective.

Literally from day one, the Arvind Kejriwal Government had to work in an environment where they had almost no control over officers. The irony, of course, is that there continues to be a minister in charge for the “service department” but the files are sent to the Lieutenant Governor directly without keeping the minister in the loop. Likewise, in case of defiance of the direction of any minister in charge by its officer, there is nothing that the minister can do.

Next, on the political front. From 2014 onwards, there has been a tectonic shift in the parliamentary democracy of India. Backed by a brute majority, which was reinforced by an even bigger number in 2019, the Modi government sought to replace cooperative federalism with a unitary system. The office of Governor was frequently used to create hurdles in the functioning of opposition-run states. West Bengal, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, etc. are few examples. Delhi, which is not even a full-fledged state, was no exception. Thus, while Sheila Dikshit led Delhi in the era of cooperative federalism, where the Centre would take her opinion on matters concerning Delhi, Kejriwal was not as fortunate. He had to work right under the nose of a hostile Central government that referred to the constitution only when it suited them.

Delhi’s affairs took another ugly turn with the appointment of the new Lieutenant Governor and new Chief Secretary, almost together, in mid-2022. The duo ensured that first the Deputy Chief Minister and then the Chief Minister were jailed for a “policy decision” which was called a “scam”. Such is the nature of this so-called “scam” that not even a single officer went to jail despite the fact that officers frame policy, and in Delhi they have no compulsion to sign off on anything if they disagree. This development has sent down a clear message to the entire bureaucracy in Delhi—“you will be shielded so long as you are on the right side of the political divide”. As a result, now even those officers who would earlier follow a logical-rational approach, do nothing.

What is the way out from this situation—political and/or constitutional?

In terms of political solutions, one option with the people of Delhi is to vote out the AAP in the assembly elections scheduled within the next six months and install a BJP government instead. The only problem with this solution is that people have seen how BJP grossly mismanaged MCD for decades despite having the support of the Centre. Another problem is that the assumption of having a favourable Lieutenant Governor forever is on shaky ground. What if tomorrow, Nitish Kumar decides to walk out of the coalition at the Centre? Or, what if the BJP is voted out of power in the next elections? It is not unimaginable anymore to think that their 240 seats can get to 140 also. In that situation, assisted by the officers, the new Lieutenant Governor appointed by the next Central government might do the same thing with the future Delhi government that the current incumbent is doing to the AAP government.

Therefore, the only sustainable and desirable solution for the people of Delhi is to have a legal-constitutional safeguard where governance is not impacted by the dynamics between parties at the Centre and state. For this, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has to form a Constitution bench and conduct day-to-day hearing to determine the constitutional validity of the Government of National Capital Territory (Amendment) Act 2023 and restore a single responsible and an accountable government in Delhi, just like the one until 2015.

If it is not done urgently, we will continue to hear the blame game on who was responsible for the unfortunate death of the three students in the water logged basement of a coaching centre in Delhi, how did a mother and her child die after falling into a water logged drain, who is at fault for the death of 14 specially abled inmates at a Delhi Government Shelter home. This list will go on if the Supreme Court does not step in immediately to stop this travesty and restore governance and justice for the people of Delhi.

The writer is an independent education practitioner. He served as Education Advisor to the Delhi Government between 2016 and April 2024. Views expressed are personal