"The place of justice is a hallowed place." English philosopher Francis Bacon writes in his essay "Of Judicature". Bacon said that in the early XVII century; today, in the 21st century, I can feel that sanctity. The last two weeks have been traumatic. An attempt was made to constitutionally discredit and dislodge a duly elected government by forces inimical to the will of the people, who, in the eyes of these evil forces had committed the crime of electing 67 of the total MLAs from AAP and sending them to the Delhi assembly.
This was an unprecedented mandate. We thought that the government would run smoothly and it would fulfill our revolutionary agenda and enable us to present the alternate model of governance we had promised. But what we did not foresee was that those who had lost badly were conspiring to unseat an elected government. We should have realised long ago that the very continuance in office of the Lieutenant Governor, Mr Najeeb Jung, was not a good sign, as all other governors who were appointed by the UPA regime were removed by Modi government and replaced with their own party people. It was the same Mr. Jung who had refused to follow the constitution when Arvind Kejriwal accompanied his resignation last year with a recommendation that the assembly be dissolved. His request was ignored and the Delhi Assembly continued to be in suspended animation for months. The BJP tried all kinds of anti-democratic moves to install its government via the back door, but finally, the Supreme Court intervened and called for elections.
During the assembly elections this year, we faced the worst kind of attacks from BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Yet we won. Very soon, we realized it would not be a smooth sailing. The LG's office was obstructive from Day One in the day-to-day functioning of the Delhi government. An elected Chief Minister was not allowed to discharge his duties. Conflicting signals were given to senior officers. It was hinted to them that that Delhi did not have full statehood and that the LG was the real administrator. Officers were provoked to not follow instructions of the Delhi government. Finally, the appointment of the Acting Chief Secretary proved to be the tipping point. It was not a big deal. The appointment was only for ten days. The LG made it a prestige issue and the Acting Chief Secretary was forced on the government against the wishes of the Chief Minister. This is why we termed it a coup.
Despite a representation to the President by the Chief Minister, the Modi government issued a notification which was a brazen attempt to seize the powers of an elected government. This notification virtually made it impossible to run the Delhi government as the Chief Minister had been left with no jurisdiction over its officers; he couldn't even appoint a peon for himself. Two senior officers defied the orders of the Chief Minister. What was even more shocking was the second part of the notification which stated that the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Delhi government has no powers to proceed against any employee of the central government. The Anti-Corruption Bureau has been in existence for the last 40 years and there had been no territorial tug-of-war with it, but all hell broke loose as the AAP government started using this effectively to eradicate corruption in Delhi.
The Delhi Police, which is directly controlled by the Lieutenant Governor, lodged a case of kidnapping against the Anti-Corruption Bureau when the agency caught a police official red -handed, accepting a bribe. The case was taken to court, challenging the authority of the anti-graft agency. The Delhi Police lost its case in the lower court and then appealed in the High Court, where the court had pronounced two things: the Lieutenant Governor is obliged to consult the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers on certain matters (which is what we have been saying), that the centre's notification issued last week was "suspect", and that the Anti-Corruption Branch can investigate complaints against the Delhi Police and central government employees .
So now the important question is why does the Modi government have a problem with the Anti-Corruption Bureau when the PM himself has said that he is committed to fighting corruption ? He should be patting the agency on the back . If he is opposed to it, he must explain the reason.
The court also said that "people's verdict should be respected". The order proves our point that the Lieutenant Governor in Delhi may enjoy more power than other state governors, but his authority can't diminish that of the Chief Minister, and he can't enjoy primacy over a Chief Minister who represents the will of the people when the assembly is not in session. The Modi government has tried to usurp all the powers of the AAP Government and make it a titular government by issuing this notification. It was a crime inflicted upon on the spirit of the constitution.
A strong centre is no guarantee for the survival of democracy. An equally strong State is demanded for a vibrant democracy. Let's not forget that India is a people's democracy and not a dictatorship; and in a democracy, the will of the people will prevail - not the wishes of an appointed-unelected figure head.
Long live Indian Democracy!
(Ashutosh joined the Aam Aadmi Party in January 2014. The former journalist took on former Union minister Kapil Sibal and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan in the national election from Chandni Chowk in Delhi.)Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.