In a landmark ruling, the Apex Court has held that the elected government in the national capital was accountable to the people, and had full right over the services wing, which entailed transfers and postings of senior officials. Maintaining that the Lt. Governor and the Centre continued to have powers over subjects dealing with land besides law and order, the court has maintained that the elected arm of the government had to implement public welfare schemes and thus had the final prerogative in appointing and transferring bureaucrats. Soon after the judgment, Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, thanked the Apex Court and announced that there would be a major administrative re-shuffle shortly. In other words, officers who had been resisting the directives of the elected government would be facing the flak, and some of them could even be proceeded against on disciplinary grounds. The Court ruling is also being viewed as a big setback for the Lt. Governor, who was accused by many in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of overstepping his jurisdiction while throwing a “spanner in the development activities of the elected government’’. The BJP which has locked horns with Kejriwal over the past few months, welcomed the Apex Court order, but cautioned that a transfer and posting industry could now flourish in the national capital. The implication was that the Kejriwal dispensation which is facing accusations of financial irregularities and corruption, could now use their hold over the services to appoint bureaucrats and officials, for some kind of consideration. The AAP was soon to react and maintained that only honest and upright officials with competence shall now hold positions in order to serve the people and carry out the good work being done by the elected government. The tussle between the Lt. Governor and the elected representatives has always been there since 1993 when the Delhi Assembly was created and its powers defined under the constitution. However, successive Chief Ministers and the Lt. Governors found a mechanism to settle these issues amongst themselves. But ever since the AAP has come to power, the elected representatives have had a face-off with the Centre over the powers leading to a crisis that threatened to stall the functioning of the government. The Apex Court order has come at a time when this confrontation was taking a turn for the worse and thus could provide some sort of semblance. Kejriwal on Thursday stuck a conciliatory note when he said that the elected government would now move forward with the blessings of the Lt. Governor. A similar gesture also needs to be offered by the Centre as well. The mandate for the governance of the city was given to the AAP by the people, and this should always be kept in mind. The Lt. Governor may be well meaning in his approach and should therefore essentially concentrate on overseeing the law and order situation and the functioning of agencies such as the Delhi Development Authority as per the directions of the Court. The common objective should be the welfare of the people and it means that any conflict which comes in the way should be avoided.
