Appeal to LG to not disrupt Delhi's constitutional framework : Atishi

Speaking out against Delhi’s new LG’s overstepping and meddling in the capital’s constitutional arrangement, AAP Senior Leader and MLA Ms Atishi said, “The new LG is attacking Delhi’s constitutional sanctity by coercing the Kejriwal Government’s officers to work on his directions. I appeal to LG to not try to disrupt Delhi's constitutional system, and let the Kejriwal Government run the departments which fall under its purview. The Constitution clearly states that land, law and order, Delhi Police, and now the MCD falls under the jurisdiction of the LG, who is the Centre’s representative. On the other hand, Delhi’s elected government has jurisdiction over departments including electricity, water, education, health, and revenue, as confirmed by the Supreme Court's Constitutional Bench. If contrasting orders are issued to officers from the LG and the Delhi Government, whose word will they follow? Meddling with Delhi’s constitutional arrangement will lead to absolute chaos all over the National Capital. Cleanliness and poor waste management is a predominant issue in Delhi – no locality is properly cleaned due to MCD’s incompetence over the past 15 years. It is my humble request to LG to focus on improving Delhi’s law & order situation, women’s safety issues, sanitation, and disposal of landfills. LG must solve these problems if he wants to help the people of Delhi.”

AAP Senior Leader and MLA Ms Atishi said, “On the 30th of May, Delhi’s new LG called a meeting of Delhi Jal Board officers. In the meeting, he issued directions and orders to the DJB officers on a hoard of different issues. I think the new LG is new to Delhi, he is not completely aware about the constitutional situation of the national capital. Thus, I feel it is necessary to apprise the LG that Delhi functions under the bounds of a constitutional framework.”

She continued, “Under this constitutional framework, the Lieutenant Governor is appointed by the Central Government to take out three clearly defined facets. These include land, law & order and police. The role of the Lieutenant Governor has been clearly defined in the Indian Constitution. The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court too has given its nod to this fact. They too have distinctly noted that the LG, a nominee of the Central Government, is only supposed to look after land, law & order and police.”

She added, “Another unique development has emerged in Delhi wherein the MCD has been unified and brought under direct control of the Central Government. For once, we can believe that under this unique circumstance, the LG can take over the duties of the MCD as well. But regardless of anything else, power, water, education, health come under the direct purview of the elected government of Delhi, which at present is led by Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet. This is not an argument. This is the written word of the constitution of this country. This is what the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court has noted. If the new LG thinks he can summon the officers of the departments under the purview of the elected government of Delhi and he can issue directions to them for working as he pleases, then he is attacking the constitutional framework and arrangement of the national capital.”

She continued, “How can Delhi be governed effectively if on one hand officers are summoned by the LG and given certain directions by him; and on the other hand, the elected government, which has jurisdiction over the respective departments that these officers belong to – like the Delhi Jal Board, Education, Health, Revenue departments, etc, will give some other directions to these officers. Whose orders will these officers follow then – the LG or the elected government or neither? Hence, if Delhi’s constitutional arrangement is besmirched or meddled with, then it will lead to absolute chaos all over the National Capital. Effective governance will cease to exist in Delhi, and innocent residents will have to pay the price for the resultant state of disorder.”

She added, “The LG has jurisdiction over the law & order situation, over the Delhi Police, and even the MCD now – and Delhi faces numerous problems when it comes to these departments. Delhi has three major landfills – ginormous mountains of garbage, which actively pollute the city. It is my humble request to the LG, that if he truly wishes to solve the problems faced by Delhi residents, he should begin by ordering the disposal of these landfills. Cleanliness and poor waste management is one of the most predominant issues in Delhi – not a single locality is properly cleaned due to MCD’s incompetence over the past 15 years. Hence, I urge the LG to solve the problem of sanitation and cleanliness of Delhi. Women’s safety is also a major source of distress for Delhi residents. If the LG speaks to even a single woman in Delhi, he will find out that even today the women are scared to step out of their homes after dark out of the fear of being attacked, harassed, or worse. Hence, I appeal to him that if he wants to solve Delhi’s problems, he should address the matter of women’s safety. Moreover, the law & order situation is so poor that robberies and murders are taking place on the regular now. Someone fired a weapon at the Subhash Nagar crossing in broad daylight recently. So yet again, I request the LG to look into the improvement of the situation of law & order and Delhi Police in the state, as it would be deeply beneficial to all Delhi residents.”

Ms Atishi concluded, “This is my humble request to the LG to not meddle with or damage the constitutional arrangement of Delhi. Departments like electricity, water, education, health, revenue that fall under the purview of Delhi’s elected government, should be allowed to be run by the government itself. And I further appeal to you to work on improving Delhi’s law & order situation, the condition of women’s safety, the state of sanitation and cleanliness, proper waste management as well as the disposal of the landfills. These are all major sources of troubles for the people of Delhi, and all fall under your jurisdiction. Hence, I request you to focus on those and solve these problems at the earliest.”