NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday asked Lt Governor Najeeb Jung not to protect the interest of any party or the Home Ministry, which were keen on stalling his government’s Jan Lokpal Bill.
"Now, it is for you to decide whether you will be able to stand up to the pressure or not. You are a genuine person. But I humbly want to suggest to you that you had taken an oath to protect the Constitution and not the interest of any party or the Home Ministry,” he said in a strongly-worded letter to Jung.
The letter of Kejriwal, who shares a good equation with Jung, was sharp in tone and came a day after reports emanated that the Lt Governor had sought Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran’s opinion on the Bill.
The law officer had conveyed to him that it will be illegal if prior consent was not taken from the Centre. It also came on a day when his party colleague Ashutosh called the Lt Governor a “Congress agent“.
Kejriwal raised questions on how the Lt Governor had sought comments from Parasaran on the Bill that was sent to him only last evening and shortly later news leaked out about the law officer objecting to it.
“I was surprised when I heard on television last night about SG’s opinion. On which Bill you had sought SG’s opinion, as we had sent the draft to you only in the evening and on which Bill he had given you opinion,” he said.
Earlier, Kejriwal's Cabinet colleague Manish Sisodia said the government will have a “look” at the issue but maintained that the Assembly and the elected government have the right to take decisions.
“The Solicitor General might have given some arguments and cited some clauses. We will have a look at it, but I want to say that there is nothing supreme than the elected government and the elected Vidhan Sabha,” Sisodia said.
AAP leader and senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan said there may be some rules that the government needs to get prior clearance for the Bill but the mere fact that the permission was not taken does not make it illegal as the Bill has to get the approval of the President.
Parasaran, whose opinion was sought by Jung on the constitutionality of the Delhi government’s proposal to enact the Jan Lokpal Bill without seeking Centre’s clearance, had conveyed to him that it will be illegal if enacted without the consent.
“I am not bothered about politics. We have only given our opinion based on the constitutional position. Therefore, it is for the government to consider it and possibly act,” the Solicitor General said.
The Delhi Cabinet had cleared the draft Bill on February 3, 2014. It provides for covering all public servants — from Chief Minister to Group D employees — and seeks life term as maximum punishment for those found guilty of corruption.
The AAP government has already declared that it will go ahead with enacting the law. It plans to introduce the Bill in the Delhi Assembly on February 13, and discuss it for two days before shifting the proceedings to a sports stadium for passage of the Bill.
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday demanded a probe into the alleged “leak” of a communication on the Jan Lokpal Bill from the Solicitor General to the Lt Governor, whom it accused of acting like a “Congress agent”.
“Anything that has gone to Lt Governor, it has become public through the media. Lt Governor Najeeb Jung is acting an agent of the Congress and he is trying to malign the image of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government,” party spokesperson Ashutosh said.
He said that this was not the first time that the information was leaked from the LG’s office and also demanded that the matter be investigated.
“This is not the first time that a confidential communication with delhi Lg Jung is leaked !! Is his office involved in leak !!!
“How and why confidential letter between LG Jung and solicitor General was leaked ?? Who has leaked ?? It should be investigated ???,” the journalist-turned-politician tweeted.
Interestingly, from the day the AAP was invited to form the government, it has shared cordial relations with the Lt Governor.
Even when there was a face-off between the Union Home Ministry, Delhi Police and the Delhi government last month, Kejriwal had publicly praised Jung calling him a “nice person”. Jung had played a major role in convincing Kejriwal to reach on a compromise.
Friday, Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran, whose opinion was sought by Jung on the constitutionality of the Delhi Government’s proposal to enact the Jan Lokpal Bill without seeking Centre’s clearance, had conveyed to him that it will be illegal if enacted without the consent.
“Whatever the Solicitor General has said is a legal advice and views over legal issues may differ. As per the legal advice we have sought, this (the process to pass the Janlokpal Bill) is purely legal and we will bring this Bill in the Assembly,” Ashutosh said.
AAP leader and senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan said there is a provision in the act that even if something that requires prior approval, the mere fact that it was not sent for prior approval will not make it unconstitutional because eventually the President will give his assent
“He is talking about the procedure… that is some requirement in transaction of business rules,” he said. — PTI
Source Link: http://www.tribuneindia.com
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