AAP govt accuses Delhi chief secretary of sending files directly to LG office 'bypassing' CM, LG office hits back

Arvind Kejriwal. File Pic

A war of words erupted between the AAP dispensation and the lieutenant governor's office on Thursday over the government's charge that Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar sent some files directly to the LG "bypassing" the chief minister. The fresh confrontation between the two sides came hours after the Lok Sabha passed a bill which seeks to affirm the Centre's control over bureaucrats of the Delhi government.

The AAP government in a couple of statements alleged that Kumar was "reprimanded" by LG V K Saxena for "bypassing" Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and sending files directly to the LG office in violation of constitutional norms and Supreme Court judgments. The Raj Niwas (Delhi LG office), in a statement, "categorically denied" the "claims" made by the AAP government.

The fresh round of tussle started with the AAP government alleging that the chief secretary sent a file concerning the proposed visit of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) mayor to Australia to participate in the Asia Pacific Cities Summit directly to the LG instead of the chief minister.

"In a shocking series of events, it has come to light that the chief secretary, in breach of his constitutional obligations, is attempting to bypass the chief minister and sending official files to the office of the LG, without due permission from the chief minister," the statement from the AAP government claimed.

The statement also claimed that the LG office "reprimanded" the chief secretary and asked him to route the file to it via the chief minister's office. Mayor Shelly Oberoi requested through proper channels to be granted permission to attend the 2023 Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayor's Forum in Brisbane City, Australia, it said.

The summit is to take place between October 11-13. The mayor attending the would be of "immense benefit to the MCD due to exchange of ideas among mayors and business leaders", it said. A proposal of the visit was sent to the MCD commissioner by Oberoi on May 15. The commissioner proposed that the mayor may be accompanied by an MCD official, the statement said.

"As per procedure, the MCD commissioner sent the file forward to the secretary, Sanjay Goel from Urban Development, who sent it forward to the Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar. The chief secretary sent the file to the LG without first forwarding it to the office of the chief minister."

It should be noted that normal procedure dictates that all files must move from the chief minister's office to the LG, and the chief secretary is not permitted under the rules of conduct to bypass the chief minister and send files directly to the LG, the AAP government statement said.

The Raj Niwas statement termed the allegations and claims of the AAP government as a "figment of fantastic imagination" that was apparently and "shamelessly" being undertaken, as part of a "nefarious agenda driven political exercise".

It alleged that the whole thing was aimed at "vitiating" the atmosphere, even as Parliament was deliberating on serious and consequential issues pertaining to the NCT of Delhi through the GNCTD (Amendment) Bill 2023. The Raj Niwas further said that as per extant rules, the chief secretary was required to send the file about the mayor's visit directly to the LG.

"The LG office sent the file back to chief secretary conveying LG's desire that the file be resubmitted through the CM, solely because the LG, like always, wanted the CM to be kept in loop on decisions, especially those that concerned his political colleagues, in this case the AAP Mayor of MCD," it said. The government and its functionaries are advised to refrain from such characteristic but "abominable attempts" at sullying the name of high offices, added the Raj Niwas statement.

The AAP government, however, claimed in its statements that the Supreme Court in its judgements in 2018 and 2023 established that on all transferred subjects, the elected government will take final decision and the LG is bound by its "aid and advice".

According to the constitutional norms applicable to NCT of Delhi and SC orders, all files concerning subjects transferred to the elected government must be mandatorily put up first to the minister concerned and then the chief minister before being sent to the office of the LG, it said. "The CS is not permitted under the rules of conduct to bypass the elected government and the CM and send files on transferred subjects directly to the LG," said the AAP government statement.

The AAP dispensation has in recent days indulged in a tussle with the bureaucrats, including the chief secretary and the principal secretary (home), over various issues such as flood in the city and meeting of the newly formed National Capital Civil Services Authority (NCCSA).

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