As Delhi CM Kejriwal gets bail, a look at what comes next

With bail conditions that do not give him complete freedom to perform his duties as Chief Minister, including that he cannot visit the Secretariat or the CM Office therein or sign any files other than those that have to be cleared by the Lieutenant Governor, officials said that the AAP government may encounter some problems, albeit small.

“We are seeking a legal opinion on whether this means that the CM cannot hold meetings with officials. His not being allowed to go to the Secretariat is not really a problem since even in the past, several meetings have been held at his home. In any case, there is always the option of Cabinet decisions being finalised through circulation – which means that the file will be moved, comments sought and ultimately sent to the Lt Governor for approval as per requirement,” a senior party leader said.

Three significant priorities immediately on the horizon related to the administration of the capital for Kejriwal are a meeting of the Delhi Cabinet, the National Capital Civil Service Authority (NCCSA) and a reorganisation of Delhi’s Council of Ministers to include former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on it.

One Cabinet berth on the seven-member Delhi Cabinet is currently vacant after the resignation of Social Welfare Minister Raaj Kumar Anand earlier this year.

Bureaucratic sources said that the bail constituted a grey area regarding his precise role moving forward.

“The CM does not have any portfolio so no significant change is expected there as far as the administration of the capital is concerned; but several important decisions are pending,” a senior government official said.

“Other functions such as the posting of IAS officers — as many as ten of whom were transferred to Delhi yesterday from various locations under the jurisdiction of the AGMUT cadre — is one of the most significant ones as it falls under the NCCSA chaired by him,” the official added.

With a bar on his visiting the Delhi Secretariat as well as the CMO, these, according to another senior official, would need to be done through file circulation.

“Almost all files pertaining to administrative decisions — especially those related to reserved subjects such as land, police and law and order — come to the L-G for approval; this will continue to be the case,” this official said.

“In the absence of the CM, the Chief Secretary has been forwarding these to the L-G Secretariat for approval after receiving such files from the ministers concerned and that is likely to continue. What remains to be seen is how the Delhi Cabinet — which too can take decisions through file circulation before sending them for the L-G’s approval — deliberates on such decisions,” the official said further.