Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, claimed on Wednesday that the Delhi Services Act granted personnel “licence to openly rebel” against the directives of the legitimately elected administration. After Delhi minister Atishi said that principal secretary (finance) AC Verma refused to follow her instructions, Kejriwal made his statement.
“The Delhi Services Act allows officers to openly defy written directions from an elected government. And officers have begun defying elected Ministers’ directives. Can any state, nation, or organization function in this way? This Act would destroy Delhi, and the BJP wants that to happen. Act needs to be overturned as soon as possible,” the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party wrote on X.
The Delhi Services Act gives the national capital’s bureaucrats under the control of the central government.
At the press conference, Atishi announced that she had instructed the finance secretary to designate a counsel to file a Supreme Court petition challenging a High Court ruling against the Delhi government in a GST refund issue.
She continued by revealing that she and the outgoing Finance Minister, Kailash Gahlot, had instructed the finance secretary to file a petition with the Supreme Court on a GST issue involving a refund of roughly Rs 1 crore.
“It was not any controversial matter, it was only a day-to-day matter. But from June 5 till date, the case has not been filed even on the request of the ministers. Now by sending a 40-page letter, the principal secretary of finance refuses to accept the order,” she said.
“What was said about the revolt of the officers seems to be coming true. After the Chief Secretary in Delhi, now the Finance Secretary has also written a 40-page letter refusing to obey the orders of the elected government,” Atishi said in a post on X, while sharing the video of her press conference.
The finance secretary argued that the appointment of a lawyer was not within Atishi’s jurisdiction but was the responsibility of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.
