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Journalism of Courage
As the search begins for the next person who can govern Delhi, the Arvind Kejriwal government might find itself missing Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.
For all his run-ins with the AAP regime, Baijal, 76, enjoyed good relations at a personal level with its leaders, being a mild-mannered person who, with his long stint in bureaucracy, knew how to handle the workings of officialdom.
Delhi, besides, is not only looking at the prospect of a new Lieutenant Governor who might be more pliant to do the Centre’s bidding, but also a ‘Special Officer’ to be appointed by the Union government to head the new municipal corporation structure. Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, appointed at the end of April, is still settling down.
Several AAP leaders speak of Baijal as level-headed, even if at the end of the day he had to listen to what the Centre said. A senior AAP leader said: “Whatever problem the AAP government had, it was with the directions of the Centre and not the person. Ministers had a cordial relationship with Baijal and worked closely with him during the Covid crisis, since he was heading the Delhi Disaster Management Authority.”
Baijal had taken over as L-G from Najeeb Jung, whose tenure was marked by a rocky relationship with the then-fledgling and restive AAP. The new L-G will take over when the Kejriwal-led party is taking the battle head-on against the BJP in two new territories, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, emboldened by the sweeping Punjab victory, and hence the relationship between the two parties is set to be fraught.
The amendment to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, passed during Baijal’s time, gives the L-G far more powers over decisions passed by the state government than before.
Giving a hint of AAP’s fears, Kejriwal had tweeted in March: “Is Mr Praful Patel, Administrator of Lakshadweep, being made the next LG of Delhi?” Several of Patel’s decisions in the Muslim-majority Lakshadweep were seen as in line with the Hindutva agenda and had led to controversy.
A Delhi government official who did not want to be named said: “Who the Centre appoints in these positions is very important. While they had their run-ins, Baijal was largely a non-confrontational and professional officer and worked well with the Delhi government. His focus was on urban development, and coordination between departments. However, considering the powers that the new amendment has given to Delhi’s L-G, it seems the Centre wants an official who will take the lead. If that is indeed the case, we can expect a major power tussle in the coming months and years.”
Those who worked with Baijal in the L-G Office also talk about the 76-year-old seeking to build a better, non-confrontational relationship with the Kejriwal government.
A 1969-batch IAS officer, Baijal was appointed to the post in December 2016 after Jung resigned suddenly, three years and a few months into his tenure. An L-G has no fixed tenure, unlike governors.
Baijal brought experience of working in Delhi to the job. He earlier worked on the 2021 Master Plan when he was the DDA Vice-Chairperson. As L-G, he was the DDA chairperson and oversaw the Master Plan of Delhi 2041.
Before that, Baijal was Union Home Secretary in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. He also served as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and as Chairman and MD of Indian Airlines and CEO of Prasar Bharati.
In Delhi, important departments such as land, police, law and order and services come under the L-G. On some of these issues, the differences between Baijal and the Kejriwal government were stark.
The first confrontation was in 2017, over the government’s plan for doorstep delivery of services. The scheme was later approved. 2018 saw the biggest stand-off, over then Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash being allegedly assaulted by AAP MLAs at Kejriwal’s home during a meeting. Lately, there were disagreements over the appointment of special public prosecutors for anti-CAA, Delhi riots and Red Fort vandalism cases. While the Kejriwal government submitted a panel of names, Baijal went by a list submitted by the Delhi Police.
