The Delhi government’s appeal against the Lieutenant Governor’s appointment of the chairman of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) will be heard by the Supreme Court tomorrow.
The Supreme Court has also received a request from the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP administration opposing a federal directive that aims to take control of the national capital’s bureaucracy.
The National Capital Civil Service Authority (NCCSA) is created by an ordinance that was unveiled by the BJP-led central government on May 19 to handle transfers and disciplinary actions against Group-A personnel in Delhi.
The Chief Minister’s Office slammed the NCCSA yesterday, claiming that bureaucrats are “overturning” decisions taken by the Delhi Chief Minister.
“However, this simple majority has enabled the bureaucrats to override the Chief Minister’s decisions, effectively granting them unchecked power over the authority’s operations. Consequently, the Chief Minister’s voice, representing the will of the elected government and the people of Delhi, finds itself in the minority within the NCCSA,” the Chief Minister’s Office said.
The Lieutenant Governor’s Secretariat, however, denied the allegations and said that their statement did not present the “true picture” of the outcomes of the NCCSA meeting.
“A narrative that officers are not paying attention and require total control is projected. The Lt. Governor’s Secretariat declared that NCCSA will provide the draft minutes to the media so that they could be checked for accuracy.
A week after the Supreme Court decided that the AAP government had power over Delhi’s bureaucrats, with the exception of police, public order, and land, the ordinance went into effect.
The Lieutenant Governor, who was chosen by the center, held executive authority over all officer transfers and postings prior to the May 11 ruling.
The Delhi government in its petition called the ordinance a circumvention of the Supreme Court verdict and called for striking it down.
The AAP has also announced a series of protests against the ordinance.
