Delhi BJP MPs at a press conference in the Capital on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: ANI
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Taking on AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who is busy marshalling the Opposition parties against the Centre’s ordinance on services, the BJP said the CM was fighting for control over the Delhi government bureaucrats to keep a lid on his government’s “corruption”.
“The basis of this entire controversy is corruption,” said Union Minister and New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi on Sunday at a press conference attended by six of the party’s seven Lok Sabha members from Delhi, except East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir.
Ms. Lekhi said the Delhi government started replacing officials probing corruption cases against the CM and his Cabinet colleagues soon after the Supreme Court announced its May 11 verdict, giving the elected regime the power to wield control over the bureaucrats.
‘Unconstitutional move’
Later, AAP hit back at the BJP and said the ordinance was “unconstitutional”.
A party spokesperson said, “In paragraph 160 of its ruling, the Supreme Court explicitly states that the involvement of the Centre in the administration of Delhi is limited to the provisions of the Constitution and that any further expansion must adhere to the constitutional framework of governance.”
“The apex court had anticipated the Centre’s attempt to circumvent this ruling and unlawfully curtail the powers of the Delhi government,” the spokesperson added.
On May 19, less than 10 days after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Delhi government on the services issue, the Central government wrested back control of the bureaucracy through the ordinance.
North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari said the CM was “hobnobbing” with the Opposition leaders, whom Mr. Kejriwal had once categorised as “the most corrupt leaders in the country”.
‘Pity Nitish Kumar’
“I feel pity for Nitish Kumar ji today. Whoever has come close to Arvind Kejriwal has lost their political stature. Look at his [Delhi CM’s] close aides Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, who are in jail,” Mr. Tiwari said.
Former Union Minister and Chandni Chowk MP Harsh Vardhan said, “Having been an MLA for nearly 20 years, I have seen the tenure of four CMs in Delhi – Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma, Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit.”
He said all the previous Chief Ministers worked with the Lieutenant-Governors in a non-confrontational manner. “The governments of various ideologies at the Centre and the national capital worked together. They never had problems unlike the current dispensation,” he added.
In response, AAP said that the BJP was “lying in a desperate attempt to deceive the public” and that the Sheila Dikshit government had “complete authority” over the transfer and posting of bureaucrats.
“However, immediately after AAP assumed power [in Delhi] in 2015, the Modi government, through a notification, shamelessly snatched away this rightful authority from the elected government,” the AAP spokesperson added.
