New Delhi, May 19: Dehi lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung met the President on Monday, hours before chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was scheduled to meet Pranab Mukherjee, as the tussle for the reins of the Capital reached the doors of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The city's top two authorities have been embroiled in a hostile confrontation over the past few days over the appointment of senior bureaucrats, with the Aam Aadmi Party accusing Jung of bypassing an elected government trying to get in officers of his choice.
The Centre too has spoken out on the issue as Union finance minister Arun Jaitley asked Kejriwal to understand the responsibilities of governing the national capital. "People want governance and not controversy. So they (AAP) should understand their responsibilities and fulfil people's expectations," he said.
Kejriwal, however, got a shot in the arm from senior Supreme Court lawyers Rajeev Dhawan and Indira Jaising, who said the crisis of governance had been created solely by the L-G. "There is no provision granting the L-G the power to act at his own discretion in the matter of appointment of the chief secretary," Jaising said.
The two warring sides had clashed afresh on Monday over the removal of principal secretary(services) Anindo Majumdar, who was locked out of his office and replaced CM's secretary Rajendra Kumar, only to have the L-G declared the appointment void hours later.
This prompted an angry AAP government threaten to not comply with Jung's "unconstitutional" orders and speaking to the President. "Your directions are against the provisions of the law and the Constitution. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will apprise Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the issue," deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia wrote to the L-G. TV reports also said Kejriwal appointed Arvind Ray as general administration department secretary, in place of Majumdar.
Majumdar, a senior bureaucrat, had earned Kejriwal's ire for issuing an appointment letter to Shakuntala Doley Gamlin against the CM's wishes. Gamlin, who hails from Assam, defied the CM's request and took charge on Sunday as the city's acting chief secretary, causing Kejriwal to accuse her of favouring power companies.
The CM also issued orders saying any instructions from the L-G, written or verbal, should be routed through the concerned minister and the CM, in order to ensure bureaucrats don't bypass the AAP government.
Kejriwal's treatment of Gamlin, however, has come under severe criticism with Union minister Kiren Rijiju accusing the CM of insulting people from the Northeast.
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