With yet another letter to the Delhi government on Wednesday, Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has sparked one more confrontation with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The pretext this time is the appointment of the chairperson of the mostly ineffectual Delhi Commission for Women. Two days after the government appointed Swati Maliwal to the post, the lieutenant governor annulled the appointment citing a violation of the rules. This time, he has also — outrageously — asserted that he was “the government of Delhi”. As in all the earlier instances — transfer postings in the Delhi bureaucracy, the appointment of the Delhi home secretary and of the Anti-Corruption Branch chief — Jung’s decision has given the Aam Aadmi Party an excuse to shift from governance to agitation, something it is far more adept at.
The lieutenant governor has clearly overstepped his brief in discharging his duties as the administrator of the National Capital Territory of Delhi and continues to do so. He is bringing into disrepute not only his own office but also the Union government and specifically the ministry of home affairs under whose supervision he functions. Jung is among the few Congress-appointed governors who were not asked to go by the Narendra Modi government when it took charge. Now, by his daily confrontations and provocations vis a vis Delhi’s elected government, he invites charges of paying back a political debt of gratitude. It would serve Najeeb Jung well to assert his independence and restore decorum and sobriety to his office. By interfering with almost every decision made by the elected government, he is disrespecting the massive mandate that returned the AAP to power with 67 of 70 seats, and can be accused of creating a situation akin to President’s Rule.
