A top official was locked out of his office at the Delhi Secretariat
This morning, a senior bureaucrat walked to his office on the seventh floor of the Delhi Secretariat to find it locked. Anindo Majumdar, Principal Secretary (Services), tried the door but it didn't give. His entire wing was locked and no one could tell who had the key.
Mr Majumdar was removed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday for confirming the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung's controversial orders to promote IAS officer Shakuntala Gamlin as acting Chief Secretary without the Delhi government's consent.
Another officer, Rajender Kumar, was named as his replacement.
Mr Majumdar still came to work today as Mr Jung called his removal "void". But he saw that his name plate had already been removed and in its place was a sign that said: "No admission without permission."
Outside the darkened services wing, a crowd of curious staff and media teams kept an eye on the locked door, wondering when it would be opened. The door didn't open, not even for Rajender Kumar, who was supposed to take charge instead of Mr Majumdar.
Shakuntala Gamlin, who took charge on Saturday as acting Chief Secretary - Delhi's seniormost bureaucrat - was also not at work today. She was seen at the Union Home Ministry in the afternoon. Mr Kejriwal has vowed to keep a close watch on her in her 10 days as chief secretary, and make sure all files come to him first.
AAP alleges that Ms Gamlin was appointed despite its objections; the officer, the party says, favoured power distribution companies against public interest.
In the raging turf war between the Lieutenant Governor and the Chief Minister, some officials questioned: "Who is calling the shots in Delhi?"
The Lieutenant Governor has written to the Delhi government that the orders removing Anindo Majumdar and appointing Rajendra Singh don't stand as the decisions were not signed off by him.
The Kejriwal government, however, is planning its counter move. It has cited rules that specify that the allocation of work to officers assigned to Delhi is a prerogative of the council of ministers and the Lieutenant Governor's sanction is not required.
Mr Kejriwal will meet with President Pranab Mukherjee tomorrow to discuss his feud with the Lieutenant Governor.