NEW DELHI: The government on Friday has instructed state government officers to respect the Constitution and Supreme Court orders, and stop taking direct orders from Lt Governor V K Saxena, a move that may trigger a fresh tussle between the ruling party and the L-G office.
The government said that all ministers have written to their department secretaries, directing strict compliance to Transaction of Business Rules and secretaries have been directed to report any direct orders received from L-G to the minister-in-charge.
According to an official statement, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the government has warned that any such orders received directly from the L-G are a violation of the Constitution and directives of the SC. The order stated that as per the Constitution of India and Supreme Court orders, the government has exclusive executive control over all subjects except for three: land, police, and public order. These three subjects are called ‘reserved’ subjects. Those subjects over which the government has executive control are called “transferred” subjects.
In the case of transferred subjects, the proviso to Article 239AA(4) provides that the LG may differ with the decision of the Council of Ministers on any of the transferred subjects. However, this difference of opinion must be exercised through a process prescribed in rule 49, 50, 51, & 52 of the TBR, it noted. The government said that the spirit of these provisions is that the difference of opinion should not be mechanically exercised, and attempt should be made to resolve those differences before issuing directions under rules 51 and 52.
Reiterating that the SC issued a ruling regarding the governance of the Delhi, the statement said it stated that the L-G must follow the procedure laid out in Rules 49 and 50 in the TBR of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Rules, 1993 (TBR).
The L-G and AAP dispensation has been engaged in a tussle over a host of issues, including the government’s proposal to send school teachers to Finland for training. On several occasions, AAP leaders have accused the L-G of bypassing the government and issuing orders to officials.
Both sides locked in never ending war
The L-G office and the AAP dispensation has been engaged in a tussle over a host of issues, including the government’s proposal to send school teachers to Finland for training. On several occasions in the past, AAP leaders have accused the LG of bypassing the elected government of Delhi and issuing orders
to officials. The vexatious Centre-Delhi government row over control of services is being heard by the
Supreme Court.