Whereas they are not the three MLAs of Delhi who have got the power to transfer officers from the Supreme Court judgment — it is the Centre that has — chief minister of the city-state Arvind Kejriwal is projecting it as a disrespect to people's mandate
New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday, while commenting on the Supreme Court’s verdict on a batch of petitions challenging various notifications, said that how can a party which won 67 seats don't have the power to transfer the officers, but those with 3 seats (BJP) do.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said that the Centre has the control of services and power of anti-corruption bureau (ACB) and not the Delhi government. This is mainly because the capital city is not a state but a union territory. The law is the same for all other UTs in the country like Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu etc.
The verdict, which came amid an ongoing tussle between the Delhi government and the Centre, is seen as a major setback for the Aam Admi Party.
“If the Delhi CM and ministers have to hold protest at L-G's house, then how will we work. My appeal to the residents is not to see the election only to elect PM. Please give us all 7 seats in the Lok Sabha election, so that we can have a larger say,” said Kejriwal.
AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said that the decision of the Supreme Court is "unfortunate". "The Delhi government completed four years today. Since it was formed, the Centre has been creating hurdles in the works of Delhi government. We were hoping that after four years, the SC will give a clear decision in the case… But the news we are getting is that no clear decision has been made. Now, the matter is being referred to a bigger bench. It is very unfortunate," he added.
Supreme Court Bench of Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan gave the verdict. However, there was a difference of opinion on certain aspects between the two judges.
Giving out the verdict, Sikri said that while the Centre has the power to appoint inquiry commission, the Delhi government has power over agricultural land, appoint government advocates and appoint a director in the electricity department.
Justice Bhushan said he only disagreed on the services issue. The issue has now been referred to a larger bench.
The bench reserved its verdict on the petitions challenging the notifications issued by the Centre and the Delhi government last November.
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had been at loggerheads with incumbent LG Anil Baijal and his predecessor Najeeb Jung. Kejriwal had accused both of them of preventing the functioning of his government at the behest of the BJP-led central government.
With PTI inputs
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