The power tussle between the Delhi CM and the Lieutenant Governor (LG) has reached a tense spot.
The episode has shown all concerned players (AAP, BJP and INC) in bad light as they’ve all approaching the issue in a politicised context.
How did the crisis evolve?
Constitutional Position - National Capital Territory (NCR) of Delhi is kept as a union territory due its strategic significance and logistical convenience.
As it is not a full state, the constitutional ambiguities in power distribution between the elected ‘CM of Delhi’ and Lt. Governor, is causing trouble
Notably, since AAP came to power in Delhi, the demand for full statehood for Delhi (with police and other powers), has become strident.
AAP government has also had a confrontationist history with the Centre, mainly due to Lt. Governor’s interventionism into administration.
Bureaucratic Control - The tussle intensified when the LG declared that it was his discretionary power to even appoint the Chief Secretary of Delhi.
As bureaucracy is effectively in the Union Government’s control, the confrontations have resulted in officials becoming uncooperative to the CM.
It is said to have reached to a point where officials started skipping official meetings and even stopped attending the phone calls of ministers.
What is the political context of the crisis?
The immediate provocation for CM Kejriwal to start a dharna at the residence of the Lt. Governor is his government’s run-in with the bureaucracy.
Delhi CM’s unease with his own government machinery is primarily due to the excessively intrusive actions of the Lt. Governor (LG).
The actions of the Lt. Governor (a central government appointee) is suspected to be guided by the political hawks of the ruling BJP.
Significantly, the Delhi government of AAP is sitting on a brute majority (67/70), and the BJP scored a mere 3/70 in the previous elections.
There is hence a perception that the BJP hasn’t come to terms yet with the massive defeat and his acting with a personal vengeance against Mr. Kejriwal.
While Kejriwal could’ve approached the issue through a lesser corrosive legal and administrative channel, he seems to have choose a street protests.
This method might further his political position, but resolving the crisis that is hindering the fulfilment of the constitutional mandate of the CM is unlikely.
In this context, the Congress Party hasn’t even voiced its stand convincingly despite BJP being its arch-rival, due to its intense dislike for AAP.
How does the future look?
The protests might end soon due to lack of sustainability.
But the underlying causes of the present crisis will not disappear unless the power distribution between the LG and CM becomes clear.
The Union government needs to get more accommodative of the Delhi government’s concerns for the betterment of the people of Delhi.
On its part, Delhi government too needs to give up its confrontationist approach and start displaying more administrative prudence.
It is also important for the AAP government to realise that it should learn to make the best of the system available before demanding more autonomy.
