Manish Sisodia Writes Letter To Delhi LG, Slams Him For 'Interfering' In Government's Daily Work

The letter was written by Delhi's Deputy CM to the capital's LG for file approval. Manish Sisodia references previous Supreme Court judgments in his letter. He stated that LG must abide by the law.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday accused Lt Governor V K Saxena of interfering with the day-to-day operations of the Delhi government in a letter.

The deputy chief minister accused Saxena of "sidelining" ministers and imposing orders in contravention of Supreme Court decisions.

The LG office and the Kejriwal government have had regular run-ins over administration and policy-related issues, notably the now-cancelled Delhi excise policy, as part of an ongoing power struggle.

Sisodia also claimed in the letter that officers were threatened with suspension if they did not obey directions.

Sisodia said he was writing the letter "In light of certain extremely worrying developments which have been brought to my notice, namely, that your office has of late, in the recent past, resorted to the trend of calling for papers from various departments," according to a report by NDTV. 

"This unwholesome development apart from being contrary to settled tradition and practice pertaining to the transaction of business of the Government is contrary to the applicable constitutional provisions," he said, as per the report.

The Deputy Chief Minister reminded the Lieutenant Governor that, with the exception of three subjects: public order, police, and land, Delhi's elected government retains decision-making authority.

"It is most humbly submitted that the recent actions of Your Excellency giving orders directly to officers on transferred subjects bypassing Council of Ministers is contrary to law and orders of Hon'ble SC (Supreme Court)," Sisodia said, as per the media report. 

"I therefore beseech you to... take timely and necessary corrective steps to eschew avoidable controversy and embarrassment," he added, according to the report. 

The letter is the latest in a series of heated interactions between Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and the Lt Governor, who represents the BJP-led central government.

Central agencies initiated an investigation into the now-cancelled Delhi liquor policy at the Lt Governor's request, leading to raids on Sisodia. Separately, the agencies have detained Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in connection with a money laundering investigation.

(With Inputs From Agencies)