Nejeeb Jung had taken over as the Lieutenent-Governor of Delhi in July 2013.
In a surprise announcement, Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung stepped down from his post today, 18 months before his tenure was scheduled to end. Mr Jung's tenure, which started in July 2013, had been marked with constant conflict with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal since the AAP government came to power in 2015. Mr Kejriwal had alleged that the BJP led government was carrying on a proxy war with his government through Mr Jung, accusing him of being the Centre's agent. Today, in a media release, Mr Jung's office said he intended to return to his "first love, academics".
Here are the 10 updates in this big political story:
Najeeb Jung, 65, a graduate of the London School of Economics, former bureaucrat and the 13th Vice-Chancellor of Delhi's prestigious Jamia Millia Islamia University, had taken over as the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi, replacing Tejender Khanna, in July 2013.
A statement from Najeeb Jung's office today said he thanked the people of Delhi for their "support and affection, especially during the one year of President's Rule in Delhi".
Delhi was under President's Rule since Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal stepped down in February 2014 after his 49-day government, after being prevented from tabling his Jan Lokpal Bill in the legislative assembly.
AAP had blamed Mr Jung for sending the draft Jan Lokpal bill to the law ministry, which insisted that the Centre's nod was needed to pass the bill.
In its second tenure, Mr Kejriwal's AAP, which swept to power in Delhi in February 2015, alleged that as the Centre's representative in Delhi, Mr Jung used his veto to strike down several crucial government decisions.
The friction between the Delhi government and the Lieutenant Governor's office had started 2 months after the new government took over, when Mr Jung refused to route files on police, public order and land through him in response to Mr Kejriwal's order.
The Delhi government clashed with Mr Jung after he appointed senior bureaucrat Shakuntala Gamlin as acting Chief Secretary in June 2015, and over the appointment of the chief of the Anti-Corruption Bureau and Delhi women's commission chief Swati Maliwal.
Earlier this year, a Delhi High Court verdict stamped Mr Jung's primacy as the administrative head in Delhi. But AAP challenged the order in the Supreme Court, which, in the last hearing said an elected government "should have some power", otherwise it cannot function. The next hearing of the case is in January 18 next year.
Today, Mr Kejriwal said he was surprised by Mr Jung's decision to quit. His deputy Manish Sisodia said despite the "bitter-sweet experience", "together with Najeeb Jung, we have good job for Delhi".
The BJP claimed Mr Jung had quit as he was "upset" with the AAP government. The Congress speculated if Mr Jung had been he removed "to bring someone who close to the RSS (BJP's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)".
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