'Let Elected Govts Function': Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Amid AAP Vs LG Tussle

Arvind Kejriwal said that obstructing elected governments from doing their job for petty partisan gains is bad for the people, democracy and the Constitution.

File Photo of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Source : PTI

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing tussle between the Centre and the Aam Aadmi Party, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Friday that obstructing elected governments from doing their job for petty partisan gains is bad for the people, democracy and the Constitution. Citing a column in The Hindustan Times by a senior Journalist on the tussle between the governors and the state governments in the context of both Delhi and Tamil Nadu, Kejriwal wrote on Twitter, "Let elected govts function,"

Obstructing elected governments from doing their job for petty partisan gains is bad for the people, democracy, and the Constitution, he further said. “Let elected govts function. Obstructing elected govts from doing their job for petty partisan gains is bad for the people, democracy, and the Constitution,” Kejriwal tweeted.

There has been a rift between the Lieutenant Governor and the Delhi government going on for years and is still continuing in LG VK Saxena’s term who assumed office in 2022.

The latest tussle between the government and the LG is over the foreign training of the school teachers of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal claimed that the LG has turned down the proposal of sending teachers to Finland for training. The Directorate of Information and Publicity of the Delhi government on Thursday sent a recovery notice to the AAP and asked it to deposit ₹164 crores within 10 days. The notice said the party violated the guidelines in political advertisements issued by the Supreme Court.

However, The observation of the Supreme Court was on a different case regarding LG's authorities in Delhi. “What is the purpose of having an elected government in Delhi at all if the administrative functions have to be carried out at the beck and call of the Centre," Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said during the hearing.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday alleged that the BJP has "unconstitutional control" over the officers of the Delhi Government through the Centre. He also cited as "unconstitutional control" the notice sent by the Directorate of Information and Publicity (DIP) to Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal for recovery of Rs 163.61 crore from his party. Sisodia said that according to the notice, Rs 163.61 crore will be recovered for advertisements given by the AAP government in 2016-17.

Early this week, the LG wrote to Kejriwal and asked him to have regular meetings for conflict-free governance. Tamil Nadu is also witnessing a tussle between the DMK government and Governor RN Ravi with the matter now having reached President Droupadi Murmu.

In the state Assembly, the governor excluded some portions of the government-prepared address in his customary speech. Delhi LG Vinai Kumar Saxena and Arvind Kejriwal are slated to meet on Friday, amidst the tussle between the two over the control of power in the city. The meeting is scheduled to be held at the LG Secretariat in the afternoon.

(With ANI Inputs)