Delhi Cabinet Minister Atishi called upon Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Sunday (July 2) to hold officers accountable for their negligence, which resulted in the deaths of two people in separate incidents in Harsh Vihar and LNJP Hospital. Asserting that the LG possesses the authority to act in such cases under the Centre's ordinance on control of services, Atishi emphasised that the lives of the people could have been saved if the responsible officers would have not neglected the matter.
"I would like to tell you that until the court rules on this black ordinance, you should take immediate action against these careless officers. Two lives were lost as a result of their negligence. You should break your silence and take action immediately, or the people of Delhi will continue to face problems like this," she wrote in a letter to the LG.
She accused the LG of "silence" on the matter, arguing that an elected government must have the authority to transfer and suspend officers.
On Friday, Ajit Sharma, 51, was returning home after dropping a passenger in east Delhi's Bhajanpura when his auto-rickshaw became stuck in a rain-filled ditch near Wazirabad. He fell in the ditch and drowned when he got out to push the vehicle.
On Sunday, a worker was electrocuted at a construction site, news agency PTI reported citing officials.
"Despite these incidents, you sit quietly. It's been two days since an autorickshaw driver died as a result of officers' negligence, but you haven't taken any action or had the courage to say anything about it," she said.
The Delhi government challenged the constitutionality of the ordinance on service control in the Supreme Court on Friday, calling it an "unconstitutional exercise of executive fiat" that attempts to "override" the top court and the basic structure of the Constitution.
The Delhi government has also requested an interim stay until the final decision is issued.
On May 19, the Centre issued the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023, to establish an authority for the transfer and posting of Group-A officers in Delhi.
The ordinance, which came a week after the Supreme Court handed over control of services in Delhi to the elected government except for police, public order, and land, has resulted in the establishment of a National Capital Civil Service Authority for the transfer and disciplinary proceedings of Group-A officers.