Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (Press Trust of India photo)
After days of aggressively circling each other, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Centre are not in detente. Their competing claims for who should call the shots in the capital is being heard today by the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court.
Both cases are pivoted on a notification issued last week by the Centre, which sought to hem in Mr Kejriwal's area of operation by expanding the powers of Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, who represents the union government in the capital.
The notification was tagged "suspect" by the Delhi High Court on Monday - an observation that should not influence further hearings, the Supreme Court said today.
The High Court in its verdict said the Centre has wrongly stated that the Lieutenant Governor is not obliged to consult Mr Kejriwal about the appointments of bureaucrats; it also overruled the Centre's declaration that its officers cannot be investigated for graft by the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Delhi government.
These points have all been challenged by the union government in the Supreme Court, which has given Mr Kejriwal three weeks to detail his stand. In the High Court, Mr Kejriwal wants the entire notification dismissed as unconstitutional.
The Chief Minister alleges that the notification exposes the Centre's flagrant attempt to seize control of Delhi through the Lieutenant Governor's office. The feud has been raging for weeks.
Mr Kejriwal has said his government will campaign for full statehood for Delhi, which is a union territory, to end the tug-of-war for power with the Centre.