The Five Times Arvind Kejriwal’s Government Said Centre Blocked Its Moves
NEW DELHI: As his government completed three years in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said they had been able to do “only half the work” that could have been done in the past three years. Without naming the Centre or the BJP, he said his government has been facing “hurdles”. Over the last three years, Mr Kejriwal’s government has accused the BJP-led Central government of attempting to govern Delhi by proxy through its representative, the Lieutenant Governor. Today, the Chief Minister, however, asked Delhi to “have faith in us”.
The five Issues on which the Delhi government and the Lieutenant Governor had clashed:
Control Over Bureaucrats
The jurisdiction over bureaucrats became one of the key flashpoints between the Centre and the Arvind Kejriwal government. In 2015, soon after AAP swept to victory in the assembly elections in Delhi, it came to loggerheads with then Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, after he appointed senior bureaucrat Shakuntala Doley Gamlin as acting chief secretary against the wishes of chief minister Kejriwal. As the matter snowballed with subsequent transfers and appointments, AAP went to high court, which upheld the Lieutenant-Governor’s position as the administrator in Delhi. AAP has challenged the order in the Supreme Court.
Passing of Bills
The Central government’s return of more than a dozen bills passed by the Delhi assembly triggered another row in 2016 as the AAP government accused the NDA of interference. In a series of tweets, Arvind Kejriwal, furious, demanded that the Delhi assembly be given the powers to make its own laws. He also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, tweeting, “Modi’s slogan — Na kaam karoonga, na karne doonga (Neither will I work, nor will I let others work).
Mohalla clinics
Arvind Kejriwal and the Lieutenant Governor had also clashed over the construction of Mohalla clinics, a healthcare project close to the Chief Minister’s heart. As the confrontation escalated, AAP lawmakers camped outside the Lt Governor’s official residence, demanding that he signs off the files. The proposal was cleared finally after months of tussle.
‘Door to Door Welfare Measures
In December, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal put brakes on the Delhi government’s proposal to “home deliver” basic public services — from birth certificates to social welfare schemes, calling for a rethink. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia called it a “huge setback” to the government’s efforts to provide good and corruption-free governance. The AAP government questioned whether the Lieutenant Governor should “have the power” to express difference of opinion with the elected government on such “critical matters of public interest and be able to scuttle such measures”.
Government advertisements
In March 2017, soon after the second anniversary of the Delhi government, the Aam Aadmi Party was asked to pay a hefty Rs. 97 crore fine for spending public money on advertisements that projected Arvind Kejriwal and his party and instead of the achievements of the state government. The order from Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal came after the country’s top auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General, said a chunk of the government’s 526-crore publicity blitz had been misused.
