Centre is trying to run Delhi govt by stealth: Kejriwal

New Delhi, June 20

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday termed the National Capital Civil Services Authority (NCCSA) as a “farce”, asserting that the BJP-led Centre is trying to “run the Delhi government by stealth”.

Addressing a press conference after the first meeting of the NCCSA, Kejriwal said the Centre’s ordinance on control of services in the national capital “places an excessive amount of power in the hands of bureaucrats over and above the ministers, the chief minister, and the Cabinet”.

बीजेपी दिल्ली में चार चुनाव बुरी तरह से हार गई। अगले कई वर्षों तक दिल्ली जीतने की उनकी कोई उम्मीद नहीं है। तो बीजेपी ने इस अध्यादेश के ज़रिए दिल्ली को हथियाने की कोशिश की है। कैसे-

ये अध्यादेश मंत्रियों, मुख्यमंत्री और कैबिनेट के ऊपर अफ़सरों को बिठाता है।

– हर विभाग में अब… pic.twitter.com/uLgZ9mYgbs

Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 20, 2023

“Every decision taken in the Cabinet will now have to be authorised by the LG and the chief secretary. It is only for formality that they have created the NCCSA, which consists of the chief minister and two officers who report to the Centre, the LG and chief secretary,” he alleged.

He claimed that the ordinance also provides the lieutenant governor (LG) Office with “arbitrary powers” that even the Constitution of India does not grant.

“Whatever decisions the Cabinet, which is referred to as the supreme body, takes, it is eventually the chief secretary who will decide if this important decision is right or wrong,” he said.

Kejriwal said the BJP lost four elections in Delhi and the party has no hope of winning polls in the national capital for the next several years.

“So they (BJP) have tried to control Delhi through this ordinance… In this way, the party wants to run the Delhi government by stealth after losing the elections,” he alleged.

The Delhi CM reiterated that they will take this matter to the Supreme Court. “We will obviously take this issue to the Supreme Court and we believe that it will rule in our favour as this is unconstitutional. We also have the support of several opposition parties if this ordinance reaches Parliament. We are confident that it will be rejected in the Rajya Sabha,” he said.

Explaining about the NCCSA, the AAP convener claimed that the Centre wants to give it the appearance that there is a body that mutually takes important decisions for Delhi, but in reality that is not the case.

“This is nothing but a conspiracy to not let the elected government do any work in Delhi. I will explain to you how futile this NCCSA is as a body through an example,” he said.

Narrating an incident, he said that around a fortnight ago, he received a file in which the suspension of a government officer was recommended.

After reading the file, he had three-four queries and clarifications, so he wrote those on the file.

“I never received this file back and later it was said that two of the three members of the NCCSA had recommended the suspension and therefore it has been confirmed.

“The LG and the chief secretary this way will always be on the same page as they are both officers selected by the Centre. Through this body, they have made a mockery of the office of the chief minister. Even if I ask for clarification on a matter, it is not considered important to reply to it. Therefore this body is just a farce for the Centre to do whatever it feels like in Delhi,” he said.

He accused the Centre of creating a system through this ordinance through which the bureaucrats have a final say on every matter of the elected government of Delhi.

“Because the Centre has complete control over Service department and Vigilance department, it will eventually have complete control over whatever is happening in Delhi. So, clearly it is an attempt of the Centre to run Delhi through the medium of bureaucrats,” he said.

The AAP national convener said the ordinance was “against” the “basic principles of the Constitution of India”.

In a democracy, the citizens of the country elect the government that they want to represent them, and it is through the medium of the bureaucracy that the elected government works for the people.

“For this to take place, the elected government needs to have control over the officers. For the first time ever in the history of the country, the BJP-led Centre has come up with a scheme where the bureaucrats will now be above the ministers,” he noted.

Asserting that this being done since the BJP has not been able to win elections in Delhi, he said that “through the officers who are under them, the BJP wants to gain control of Delhi”.

“So, now under this scheme of things, in any department if the minister decides to take certain actions, it will now be the government officers over him who will decide whether this action should be taken. So, the officer has now got an excuse to stop every work of the Delhi government,” he explained.

Citing examples, he said that if the minister tells the officer that there is a requirement of two schools in an area, the officer can refuse to listen to the minister saying that there is no need of it.

“This is the kind of power that this ordinance gives to the government officers,” he said.