The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi petitioned the Supreme Court on Friday in response to the Centre’s ordinance governing officer transfers and postings.
According to the petition, the Ordinance is unconstitutional because it does not amend Article 239AA of the Constitution and transfers control from an elected government to an unelected LG.
The Centre issued an ordinance on May 19 giving it authority over the transfer and posting of IAS and DANICS officers in the national capital. The government of Arvind Kejriwal had called the move a violation of the Supreme Court’s ruling on service control.
The ordinance was issued a week after the Supreme Court handed over control of services in the capital to the elected government, with the exception of police, public order, and land.
Prior to the Supreme Court’s May 11 decision, all officers in the Delhi government were subject to the Lieutenant Governor’s executive control.
Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, had been rallying opposition parties against the Centre’s ordinance. In fact, on July 3, he will burn copies of the ordinance at the party office in central Delhi.
According to Aam Aadmi Party chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj, copies of the ordinance will be burned across the national capital’s 70 assembly constituencies.