Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday hailed a Supreme Court ruling that appeared to have given him the upper hand over Lt Governor Anil Baijal on matters of governance, even as the BJP and Congress asked the AAP chief to work “without excuses” for development of the national capital.
A five-judge constitution bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said the LG has no independent power to take decisions and is bound by the elected government’s advice. It also demarcated powers of the L-G and the government.
In a tweet, Kejriwal hailed the order as a “ big victory” for the people of Delhi and democracy. The chief minister had a long-running battle with Baijal – and his predecessor Najeeb Jung – whom Kejriwal accuses of putting hurdles for the AAP government.
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The BJP was caustic in its reaction.
“The Supreme Court in its decision has said that the Constitution is supreme. Kejriwal government will have to work under constitutional provisions only. For the people of Delhi, Kejriwal government should work for electricity and water, without any excuses,” Delhi BJP Chief Manoj Tiwari said in a press conference. “Today’s Supreme Court order shows the mirror to Kejriwal government. SC clarified that there is no place for anarchy in Delhi", he added.
The Left said the top court’s judgment should be seen in the broader national context.
“We welcome the SC judgment, which makes it very clear that the elected representatives cannot be ignored as they represent the people. The LGs and governors are selected by the president and the elected council. Though the order is for a particular state, it is applicable to all the LGs and governors. Even the Centre should take note of it,” PTI quoted CPI leader D Raja as saying.
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CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury took potshots at the BJP, as he said in a tweet that the “the role of LGs and Governors and their misuse has been brought into sharp focus by today’s judgement. BJP's charade of cooperative federalism and in reality destroying our federal structure is condemnable. LGs/Governors cannot usurp rights of an elected state government (sic)”.
The Congress, which ruled Delhi for 15 years till AAP swept to power in 2013, too took a swipe at Kejriwal after the court ruling.
“Now, since the apex court has clarified about the powers in Delhi, we hope that the development which has been stalled, ever since the Congress was voted out of power, 4 years ago-will start again. LG and CM stop this blame-game and develop Delhi as we successfully did for 15 years,” tweeted Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken.
Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikhsit -- who was in at the helm power from 1998 to 2013 -- said the ruling that the LG is bound by the government's advice, was “not a vindication” for the AAP as “it has always been so”.
"We may have had differences. When the differences came out, after talking to each other we sorted out those differences,” Dikshit told PTI.
