New Delhi:

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena’s season’s greetings to Chief Minister Atishi has packed in a punch directed at her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal. On this occasion, the LG said he was ‘hurt’ that Mr Kejriwal had called Atishi a “temporary Chief Minister”.  “There is no such post in the Constitution and it is a reprehensible neglect to the concept of democracy in the Constitution of Babasaheb Ambedkar,” he wrote, underscoring that it was an insult to the President of India who appointed her and himself, who administered the oath to her. 

“Everyone knows in what circumstances you were appointed,” he wrote. Then listing multiple areas, where he alleged the government has failed, he said while Mr Kejriwal has admitted to his government’s shortcomings, Atishi, as the current Chief Minister, will bear the blame even though no one can do much in the time left in her tenure. 

Assembly elections are due in Delhi in February next year. 

The Lieutenant Governor – who said he was writing in a personal capacity — however, had opened his letter to the Chief Minister with much praise, commending her efficiency and initiative. 

“This is the first time in my two-and-a-half-year tenure that I am seeing a Chief Minister discharge the duties of a Chief Minister. Your predecessor did not handle a single government department and never signed a file. In contrast, you are handling many departments and trying to tackle many governance issues,” he wrote.  

The Chief Minister is yet to respond to the issue.

The Lieutenant Governor had showered praise o Atishi earlier alsom calling her “a thousand times better” than Arvind Kejriwal.

Last month, at the seventh convocation ceremony of the Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women, Mr Saxena had said, “I am happy today that Delhi’s CM is a woman, and I can confidently say that she is a thousand times better than her predecessor”. 

In August, Mr Saxena had refused to allow Atishi to hoist the said national flag on Independence Day. She was the choice of Mr Kejriwal, then Chief Minister who was in jail in connection with the Delhi liquor scam. 

Mr Saxena had over-ridden Mr Kejriwal’s choice and had nominated then Delhi Home Minister Kailash Gehlot to hoist the flag during the official government function.

New Delhi:

When Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah meets Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Wednesday, restoration of statehood will not be the only item on the top of the agenda, sources have told NDTV, indicating that the amended Transaction of Business Rules – which have given additional powers to the Lieutenant Governor – will also be a key topic of discussion.

Introduced as part of changes in the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, the amendments to the Transaction of Business Rules (TBR) were made in July, two months before the Assembly elections in the Union Territory. They widened some of the powers of the Lieutenant Governor and had attracted criticism from Mr Abdullah at the time as well. 

“Another indicator that elections are around the corner in Jammu and Kashmir. This is why a firm commitment laying out the timeline for restoration of full, undiluted statehood for Jammu and Kashmir is a prerequisite for these elections. The people of J&K deserved better than a powerless, rubber stamp Chief Minister, who will have to beg the Lieutenant Governor to get his/her peon appointed,” Mr Abdullah had been quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Despite stating that he wants good relations with the Centre ahead of his oath ceremony in October, there has been friction between the National Conference leader and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on several occasions. The transfer of some state administrative officers is the latest flashpoint between the two. 

“The friction between the Chief Minister-led administration and the office of Lieutenant Governor is quite evident. Often, important files are delayed and transfers are made without even informing the chief minister. The recent transfer of Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) officers and extensions given to some others are now the latest point of difference between Mr Abdullah and Mr Sinha,” a source said. 

Some MLAs have also raised concerns with the Chief Minister that most basic public issues have remained unresolved and officers from the JKAS do not pay any heed to their requests.

“Due to business and conduct rules, we have another power centre (lieutenant governor) and this needs to change,” CPM MLA Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami told NDTV. He said this is why he had stated in the Assembly that, “This is a House where the House also does not know what it can or cannot legislate.”

A senior bureaucrat, however, said no one has the right to complain about the TBR unless amendments are made. 

“The Lieutenant Governor was given powers to take decisions as per law and he is doing so,” the bureaucrat said. 

Amendments Soon?

Sources said a draft of an amended TBR, giving more clarity on the distribution of powers, has already been submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs. 

“Once cleared, the business rules will help streamline the governance process in J&K, ensuring greater efficiency and accountability in the administration. The rules will also play a key role in providing a clear legal and operational structure to the governance model, which is expected to be in line with the constitutional changes made in 2019,” the source said, referring to the scrapping of Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. 

The power tussle between the Chief Minister and Lieutenant Governor has given more ammunition to the National Conference, Congress, PDP and other parties, which have been pushing for the restoration of statehood for J&K. Wednesday’s meeting will be the second  between Mr Abdullah and Amit Shah since the National Conference leader took oath as Chief Minister. 

New Delhi:

The latest flashpoint between Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the Lieutenant Governor came to an abrupt halt late on Thursday evening as the election of a single Standing Committee member of the civic body, which VK Saxena was insisting on being held by 10 pm, was called off.  After an all-evening drama that included an eleventh-hour press conference by senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, officials from Raj Bhavan said the election cannot not be held on Thursday. The fresh date is Friday at 1 pm. 

Pointing to the Lieutenant Governor’s message that the election has to be held by 10 pm, Mr Sisodia had told reporters, “How can elections be held without councillors? AAP and Congress councillors have gone home”. 

Then he added, “Elections on one hour’s notice is unconstitutional’.

Election for the seventh member of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s Standing Committee – scheduled for today — was deferred by Mayor Shelly Oberoi till October 5. Her move came after a row over security check of the councillors — who were not being allowed even to carry their cellphones inside. The mayor had called it “undemocratic” and “unconstitutional”. 

But Mr Saxena overturned it with an order that said the MCD Commissioner, Ashwini Kumar, is “directed to submit a report of conduct of elections of the sixth member of standing committee by 10 pm today”.

“In case the Mayor is unavailable or refuses to preside over the meeting. the Deputy Mayor may be requested to preside over the meeting for conduct of elections,” the order read. 

The Standing Committee of the MCD is responsible for taking most of its financial decisions. Currently it has three AAP and two BJP members. 

The appointment of a sixth member – pending for months – is expected to break the tie. With 12 members from zones already elected, it would take the tally to eight members for AAP and nine for the BJP in the 18-member Standing committee.

AAP has alleged that today’s order was the Lieutenant Governor’s tactic to tilt the balance of power towards the BJP.

In a statement, the BJP said it had asked the MCD Commissioner to hold the election as per law and directions of the Supreme Court. The party said it would file a contempt petition against the Mayor and Arvind Kejriwal tomorrow on Friday. 

This vacancy was created after BJP councillor Kamaljeet Sehrawat resigned following her election to the Lok Sabha from the West Delhi parliamentary seat earlier this year. 

New Delhi:
Arvind Kejriwal’s self-imposed 48-hour deadline to resign as the Chief Minister of Delhi, ends today. He will meet the Lieutenant Governor at 4.30 pm. It is not yet known who will succeed him.

Here are top 10 points on this big story:

Srinagar:

Manoj Sinha, the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, has questioned the controversy over the alleged increase in the powers of Lieutenant Governor of the union Territory, asking if such a bill has been presented in parliament. Speaking about the Opposition comments on the issue, he told NDTV in an exclusive interview: “Some things are done to create controversies. if the powers of a Governor or Lieutenant Governor has to be increased, it has to be approved by parliament. Did such a bill ever come in parliament?”

Pointing out that the State Reorganisation Act was challenged in the Supreme Court along with the scrapping of the Article 370, he said it now has the approval of the court.

In July, the Union home ministry had amended the transaction rules in the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019. The law was originally passed as the Article 370 granting J&K special powers was scrapped and the state was bifurcated into two Union Territories.

Under the new law, the Lieutenant Governor was granted powers on key administrative and legal matters, from police and public order to postings and prosecution sanction. This drew a sharp reaction from the Opposition, which said the step will render the Chief Minister “powerless” and “disempower” the region’s people.

“No one has to get involved in the question of rights,” Mr Sinha told NDTV. “The assembly elections will be held soon. What will be the goals of the new government, whichever party is it? If it is peace, prosperity, development transparency, employment generation, I want to assure political parties through your channel — if these are the goals, they will have the full support of the Lieutenant Governor and his office. Where is the question of clash then?”

Asked if the coming election will be the stepping stone for the return of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Sinha said things are “working according to the blueprint given by Union home Minister Amit Shah”.

Mr Shah, he recalled, had said, “delimitation first, assembly election second and statehood at an appropriate time, third”.

The Lieutenant Governor also said he was hopeful that the voting percentage in the assembly election will be more than Jammu and Kashmir witnessed during the parliamentary election. Back then, the Jammu region had seen an average of 58.4 per cent turnout, the Kashmir Valley — 50.6 per cent, more than it had seen in more than the last three decades.

This, he said, only proves that the roots of democracy is “very strong” in Jammu and Kashmir. “People trust democracy and democratic values. It is natural in view of the peace and prosperity of the last five years,” he added.

Asked about the participation of Jamaat-e-Islami – the Islamic outfit which, along with Hurriyat, gave the election boycott calls in the Valley — in this election, Mr Sinha said he was not sure if anyone can be stopped from contesting elections in this country. “We need to understand that the country runs with the help of laws and constitution,” he said.

“If we want to stop elements like this, we should debate the matter in parliament, take various opinions and the Election Commission can make a rule,” he added.