AAP tears into Centre's notification, right to impeach Jung sought

The Delhi assembly on Tuesday slammed the Centre for seeking to curb the powers of the Arvind Kerjiwal government through a notification while an AAP lawmaker demanded that the state legislatures should have the powers to impeach governors.

Buoyed by the Delhi High Court's observation that the lt. governor must act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers, the AAP legislators took turns to criticise the Narendra Modi-led government's order giving Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung the final say in matters pertaining to services, police, law and order.

The May 21 notification had also stripped Delhi's Anti Corruption Branch of its power to act against the central government employees.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lawmaker Somnath Bharti moved a Private Member's Resolution against the union Home Ministry's notification. The house will take up the resolution on Wednesday and it is likely to be passed.

On the first day of the two-day special session of the assembly, called by the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government to discuss the home ministry's notification, deputy chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the Centre had encroached upon the rights of the Delhi assembly.

"It (notification) is encroachment on the rights of the legislative assembly of Delhi. They (central government) have tried to dilute the spirit of the Constitution," Sisodia told the assembly.
He said the BJP-led government at the Centre was "unconstitutionally trying to impose President Rule in Delhi".

Taking the tussle with Jung a notch higher, AAP MLA Adarsh Shashtri demanded that a resolution be passed in the Delhi assembly to amend the Constitution to enable state legislatures to impeach governors and lt. governors.

"We should pass a resolution asking parliament to review the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission and the Articles 155 and 156 of the Constitution to allow state legislatures to have the power to impeach governors and lt. governors," Shastri said.

The resolution moved by Somnath Bharti contended that the May 21 central notification was "contrary to and violative of the provisions of the Constitution of India".

"This house finds this act of Ministry of Home Affairs as an attempt on the part of the central government to encroach upon the legislative powers of this august house conferred by the Constitution."

The notification was issued following the ongoing tussle between the AAP government and Lt. Governor Jung over the appointment and transfer of bureaucrats. Both also approached President Pranab Mukherjee to seek his intervention for a resolution of the issue.