In yet another Delhi LG versus CM rift, the office of the LG has reportedly denied giving time to CM Arvind Kejriwal for an urgent meeting.
This comes after LG himself asked Kejriwal to meet him to discuss certain governance issues.
Notably, Delhi LG Vinay Saxena on Monday invited CM Kejriwal to discuss certain governance-related matters. Soon after, the Delhi CM asked for an appointment on Tuesday to which the LG office said that the latter is busy till 4 PM, Friday.
The office added that LG Saxena can meet Kejriwal only after Friday evening.
LG Writes To Kejriwal
Earlier, Lt Governor VK Saxena on Monday invited Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for a meeting to discuss the provisions governing administration in Delhi. In a letter to Kejriwal, Saxena asked the chief minister to hold regular meetings with him for "conflict-free" governance of the national capital in the interest of its residents.
In his letter, Saxena said the provisions governing administration in Delhi "... are amply clear for any practitioner of statecraft, lawyer and scholar as indeed a common citizen. I would like to invite you for a meeting where we could discuss issues threadbare".
He said the provisions governing administration in Delhi emanate out of serious deliberations in Constituent Assembly, State Reorganisation Commission and Parliament.
They have also been clearly interpreted by the Supreme Court on several occasions, he added.
Citing various letters sent by the chief minister to him over the past few days, Saxena appreciated Kejriwal for "having started taking governance in the city seriously".
The LG said the chief minister used to meet him regularly till October 2022 but later he expressed his inability to do so due to his preoccupation with assembly and municipal polls.
Kejriwal's Letter To LG
Kejriwal, in his recent letters to Saxena, questioned the nomination of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's (MCD) presiding officer and aldermen as well as members of the Haj committee, saying if LG as "administrator" meant ignoring the elected government in Delhi.
Delhi Mayor Election Controversy
The development comes amid the ongoing contention between the Delhi BJP and AAP over the appointment of Presiding Officer by the LG to conduct mayoral elections.
On the very first day of the MCD house, the LG appointed BJP’s Satya Sharma pro tem speaker to hold the mayoral elections. AAP accused him of surpassing its recommendations and ‘illegally nominating’ BJP leaders as alderman.
Delhi police on Monday used water cannon on Bharatiya Janata Party workers who were protesting outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence against violence in MCD House on 6 January, as reported by the news agency ANI.
BJP MP Parvesh Verma requested the Delhi LG to suspend the Councillors and said that how dare they hit the women Municipal Councillors. "Our protest will continue until CM Kejriwal doesn't suspend goon Municipal Councillors. How dare our women Municipal Councillors were hit by them, this hasn't ever happened before in history. We request LG to suspend goon Councillors," Parvesh Verma was quoted by ANI as saying.