Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia speaks during the Special session of the Delhi Assembly (Press Trust of India photo)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met briefly today with the man with whom he has been engaged in full-blown combat, the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung. As Delhi simmered at nearly 45 degrees, the room was undoubtedly uncomfortable for entirely different reasons.
The visit by Mr Kejriwal was a courtesy call before the Delhi Assembly begins a two-day emergency session committed to limiting the Lieutenant Governor's powers over key administrative matters for the capital, where he acts as a representative of the central government.
Mr Kejriwal says the Lieutenant Governor is being used by the PM's party, the BJP, to stage a "coup" in a city where it won just three seats in the election, all the rest racking up with the Chief Minister's Aam Aadmi Party or AAP.
The proportion of the contest between Mr Jung and Mr Kejriwal's government was exemplified as an AAP law-maker, Adarsh Shatri, said the Delhi legislature should be granted the power to impeach the Lieutenant Governor, a move that would need Parliament's approval.
Mr Kejriwal's party made it clear that Mr Shastri was expressing his own opinion, and not that of the party. A
BJP law-maker, OP Sharma, was removed by marshals during the proceedings.
In a symbolic gesture of protest, the assembly then moved a resolution declaring as "unconstitutional" the notification issued by the Centre last week which sought to fence in Mr Kejriwal's area of operation. The
Delhi High Court yesterday declared that notification "suspect", coming down heavily on the side of the Chief Minister.
Considerably strengthened by that finding,
Mr Kejriwal transferred nine bureaucrats today to new positions.
It was the appointment of key officers that instigated the extreme tug-of-war between the Chief Minister and the Lieutenant Governor earlier this month. Mr Jung said Mr Kejriwal has no role to play in the assignments of bureaucrats. Mr Kejriwal says that encroaches miles into his right to determine his team.