Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal speaking at 'Auto Samwaad', a rally of autorickshaw drivers, on Sunday. (Press Trust of India)
The turf war between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi and Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung escalated by several notches on Monday as a senior Delhi bureaucrat found himself locked out of his office. AAP has clashed head on with Mr Jung over his decision to appoint a top officer without Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's consent.
Here are 10 developments in the story:
Principal Secretary Anindo Majumdar found his office on the seventh floor of the Delhi Secretariat sealed on Monday morning.
Mr Majumdar was removed by Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday, allegedly for signing off on the Lieutenant Governor's decision to appoint IAS officer Shakuntala Gamlin as acting Chief Secretary of Delhi.
Mr Kejriwal also replaced Mr Majumdar, who was in charge of services, with another officer, Rajender Kumar. The Lieutenant Governor has called both decisions void in a letter.
In response, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia wrote back: "Your directions are against the provisions of law and Constitution therefore cannot be complied with." He added that Mr Kejriwal would write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr Kejriwal is expected to meet President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday evening to discuss his ugly feud with the Lieutenant Governor, Najeeb Jung, over the appointment of Shakuntala Gamlin.
AAP has declared war on Mr Jung for not consulting it; Mr Kejriwal alleges that she favoured power distribution companies and tried to trick the government into signing documents that would give Rs. 11,000 crore to these firms.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia accused Mr Jung of leaking his letters to the media. "Strange that a Constitutional Authority leaking letters addressed to Dy CM before it is recieved. Is it allowed under Constitution of India? (sic)," he tweeted.
On Sunday, addressing auto-rickshaw drivers, Mr Kejriwal said Ms Gamlin's appointment proved that the Narendra Modi government at the Centre "wanted Delhi's government to fail." The Lieutenant Governor reports to the Centre and is frequently accused by AAP of acting on the ruling BJP's orders.
"All appointments happen with full transparency. Everyone should show some respect to civil service officers, otherwise it affects other people as well," said Jitender Singh, the Minister of State with the Prime Minister's Office.
The Chief Minister has vowed to keep a tab on Ms Gamlin for the 10 days that she will work as Chief Secretary, and said that he will ensure every file goes through his office. Ms Gamlin did not attend office today but was seen at the Union Home Ministry.
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