The duel for Delhi Durbar

AAP is seeking support from Oppn to fight against the ordinance the BJP-led Centre promulgated to nullify SC's order giving AAP in Delhi control over bureaucrats

The AAP has become synonymous with confrontation in the past 10 years of its existence. It had made the erstwhile Congress-led Government in the Centre meekly surrender. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is now taking the battle to its gate, although the BJP was routed by Arvind Kejriwal’s party in Delhi twice – in 2015 and 2020.

The latest fight is all about control over the bureaucracy serving the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The Supreme Court on May 11 granted Delhi’s AAP government control over the bureaucrats. But the Modi government took just eight days – the AAP would say that the Centre was waiting for the Supreme Court to close for vacation – to promulgate an ordinance that negated the order of the apex court. It gave a variety of reasons for taking back control – Delhi is a capital city and decisions taken by its government or any event in the city not only affect Delhiites but also the countrymen, and may even have an impact on India’s reputation.

The Centre cited the example of other capital cities – Washington DC, Berlin, Paris, Ottawa and Canberra, which are under the control of federal governments. The officials argued that the union government’s control over the administration would allow better coordination and planning taking into account the challenges in addressing diverse needs. A city government may lack the broader perspective in handling the affairs of a capital city and that is why there is a need for the control of the bureaucrats, they said.

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The AAP, however, dismissed the arguments, alleging that the ordinance was in fact an attempt to sabotage its welfare schemes and “people-centric” projects in the National Capital Territory, by deploying bureaucrats close to the BJP and its government in the Centre.

This is not the first time that the Centre or its representative, the Lieutenant Governor, entered into a fight with the AAP-led government in Delhi. The LG and the Kejriwal government fought each other on several issues – be it the excise policy, training of teachers abroad, free yoga classes, mohalla clinics and extension of power subsidy. The row over the excise policy led to the arrest of then deputy chief minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, first by the CBI and then by the ED. Another AAP leader and former minister, Satyendar Jain, was also put behind bars on money laundering charges. Both are close aides of Kejriwal and key to the AAP’s organisational network in Delhi.

The AAP government in Delhi never had an easy relationship with the LGs – whether it was Najeeb Jung, Anil Baijal or the incumbent V K Saxena. Kejriwal often had a war of words with Saxena. The AAP supremo called the LG a “headmaster” in February. He went on to tweet: “Delhi does not need tyranny but the Constitution and democracy. Our struggle for people’s rights will continue.”

In the latest tussle over bureaucracy, Kejriwal accused the LG of not acting on its recommendation after the Supreme Court gave powers to the Delhi government. He claimed that Saxena had delayed a file on the transfer of the services secretary Ashish More to enable the union government to promulgate an ordinance to negate the Supreme Court verdict. Kejriwal also claimed that More, whom his government wanted to transfer, had gone incommunicado for two days as he had to issue the order. The chief secretary had not called a meeting for two days to take it forward while the LG had sat on the file.

Kejriwal alleged that all these had been done to allow the union government to execute its plan.

He also said that the union government waited for the Supreme Court to go on vacation to come out with the ordinance. It was on May 11 that the apex court gave the verdict and the union government waited till 9:55 pm on May 19 to issue the ordinance. It was on May 19 that the court went on vacation till July 1.

The ball will however eventually come back to the Supreme Court with the AAP government set to legally challenge the ordinance. The monsoon session of Parliament in July will see another battle when the Opposition will seek to block the passage of the Bill to replace the ordinance on the floor of the Rajya Sabha. An interesting political battle is on the cards.