“The L-G has no right to exercise veto on an officer’s appointment. It should be done in consultation with the CM, even for a Union territory,” says Pavan Varma on the raging battle between Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi’s lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung. Varma, a former diplomat-turned-Rajya Sabha MP, happens to be Jung’s college mate.
It’s difficult to decide who among the two is being more obstinate—political and legal opinion is divided on the unique roles and powers of Delhi’s CM and L-G. While President Pranab Mukherjee is believed to have given both of them an earful when they met him (separately, to complain about the other disregarding norms), the turf war is far from over.
The long simmering distrust between the two spilled over this month over the seemingly innocuous question of who would be officiating chief secretary for 10 days. While the CM questioned Jung’s authority to appoint an officer without heeding the CM’s opinion or advice, Jung wrote back saying,...
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