'Centre has no intention to run Delhi govt'

With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi and Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) Najeeb Jung on the warpath, the Centre on Friday said it has no intention of running the Delhi administration through anyone, but is committed to uphold the Constitutional provisions.

“We have no intention of running the Delhi government through anyone. Let them run the government. We just want to uphold the Constitutional provisions,” Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh told a press conference on Friday.

He was asked whether the May 21 notification, giving power to the L-G, which has now reached court, was intended to ensure that the Centre runs the show in Delhi.
“We are not against anyone, but it is our responsibility to uphold Constitutional provisions. Everyone should remain within the framework of the Constitution,” he said, without naming anyone.

He added that he would not like to comment on the Delhi Assembly's resolution holding as “illegal” the Centre's notification, and Kejriwal's statement that the Narendra Modi-led government was trying to push the country towards dictatorship.

Asked how the Centre was going to tackle the law-and-order situation if a confrontation over the issue blew up, he said, the Central government would be obliged to intervene in such a situation.

"I don't want to say who is doing what, but we are committed to uphold the Constitution. Law and order is also my duty. We will see,” he said.

Asked whether a war is on between the Centre and Delhi government, Singh said in a lighter vein, “There is no jung (war), only Najeeb Jung.”

Singh's comments came on a day when the Supreme Court sought the Delhi government's response in three weeks on the Centre's plea seeking stay on the high court judgment that termed as suspect the notification clipping powers of the AAP dispensation.

In its May 21 notification, the Centre had clipped the wings of Delhi government's anti-corruption branch (ACB), restricting it from acting against its officers in criminal offences and holding that the L-G can act in his discretion.