Kejriwal-Jung tussle resumes, this time over bringing cops from Bihar

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Going by the sharp reaction from the AAP government, it is believed that this round of fighting will be more aggressive than the previous ones as it is related to the thorny issue of policing.

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It also stated that the office of the Lt.Governor has so far not received any proposal for the deputation of Bihar Police personnel from outside Delhi Police.”By creating a unit that primarily tackles anti-corruption cases, a parallel unit will be established that will accept no interference from the MHA. The Centre could not let it happen,” a senior Delhi official said.

Jung’s statement clarified that even in the case of recruiting these officials, no permission was sought from his office. “The office of the Lt-Governor has so far not received any proposal for the deputation of such personnel from outside Delhi police. The matter will be duly examined as and when the Lt-Governor receives the formal proposal from the Vigilance department,” the statement read.

One DSP, three inspectors and two sub-inspectors of Bihar Police have joined Delhi government’s ACB on a request from the AAP government.

READ: Kejriwal-Centre power tussle – Supreme Court seeks Delhi govt’s reply on Centre’s notification

The AAP attacked Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung and said that his questioning of the ACB’s move to induct officers from Bihar was outside his purview. AAP leaders blamed the Central government and alleged that its “entire machinery” was working towards weakening the ACB.

AAP leader Ashutosh said, “The ACB falls outside the purview of Lt-Governor. This morning we had this amusing statement from the LG wherein he stated that the ACB falls under his jurisdiction. It seems tomorrow if (US president Barack) Obama is to probe something, he would have to take the Delhi L-G’s permission. And this comes after the Delhi HC’s order and the Delhi Assembly’s resolution displaying the will of the people.”

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Delhi government’s media advisor Nagendra Sharma said, “There has never been a problem in seeking police officers from other states. So why is this a problem now? We are working as per the Constitution.”

READ: Lt Governor must respect people’s mandate, says Delhi High Court

The BJP, however, was quick to respond and said the move to bring in officers from Bihar was to “humiliate” existing staff of the Delhi Police. “It seems Shri Kejriwal by calling anti-corruption staff from outside Delhi is trying to imply that Delhi Police and staff of the Delhi government is fully corrupt and can not be trusted in the fight against corruption. The idea seems to have come from Bihar CM Shri Nitish Kumar who is now a close adviser of Shri Kejriwal,” Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay said.

Delhi govt well within its rights on deputation issue: MHA official

New Delhi: A senior official of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that Delhi government was well within its rights to seek officials on deputation from Bihar.

“…according to service rules, it can be done. A state government can seek officers on deputation from other states,” the official said.
“Generally, for an Inspector-rank officer, the L-G is not kept in loop. But looking at the past incidents, it was expected of the AAP government to inform the L-G before clearing the appointments since it also includes a DSP-level officer. A debate can be raised on that but not on the legality of deputation,” the official said.