New Delhi:
Signaling an end to the legal disputes between the Lieutenant Governor (LG), who represents the central government, and the Delhi government, the new BJP-led administration in the national capital has begun withdrawing several court cases, sources revealed on Wednesday.
Some of these cases involve issues such as the appointment of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) chairman, funding for the Delhi Jal Board, the appointment of lawyers in Delhi riot cases, teacher training programs abroad, and the high-level committee on Yamuna pollution.
When the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was in power, the Delhi government and successive Lieutenant Governors—Najeeb Jung, Anil Baijal, and V.K. Saxena—frequently clashed over various matters, with many disputes escalating to the courts. The AAP government, led by Arvind Kejriwal and later Aatishi, accused the LG of deliberately obstructing the implementation of its policies. On the other hand, the LG alleged that the AAP government was not cooperating with him.
The ongoing conflict with the LG is believed to be one of the factors that contributed to the AAP’s defeat in last month’s Delhi elections. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party was reduced to just 22 seats in the 70-member Assembly, while the BJP secured 48 seats, marking its return to power in Delhi after more than 25 years. The BJP government is now led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.
One major point of contention between the AAP and the LG was the appointment of the DERC chairman. The AAP feared that allowing the central government to control the body could lead to the termination of the power subsidy scheme, which was highly popular among voters.
In 2020, then-LG Anil Baijal was accused by the AAP of interfering in the appointment of public prosecutors for cases related to the Northeast Delhi riots. AAP MP Sanjay Singh had stated at the time, "The LG and central government are insisting on appointing a panel of special public prosecutors chosen by the Centre. This is happening amid serious allegations regarding the Delhi Police’s response to the riots and the ongoing investigations."
The AAP also approached the court over the LG imposing conditions while approving its proposal to send teachers to Finland for training. Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, representing the Delhi government, had argued in the Supreme Court in 2023, "The LG is deciding which teachers to send, how to send, and when to send. This concerns the teachers’ training program." Counsel for LG Saxena countered by stating that the Kejriwal government had refused to provide the "impact assessment of past foreign training programs."
Sources within the Delhi government indicated that these and other cases will be withdrawn to resolve the ongoing confrontation between the Delhi administration, the LG’s office, and the central government. "Governance will take priority," a source said.
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