In a strongly worded letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after the ruthless and unsubstantiated behaviour of his minister towards senior officers, the Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena accused him of ‘unconstitutional brazenness, intimidation, disregard of rules’ by the AAP government after the Supreme Court verdict.
Replying to L-G’s letter, Kejriwal expressed disappointment on the language being used in Letter. Kejriwal asked on Friday whether the Centre was scheming to overturn the Supreme Court ruling that empowered the elected government with legislative and executive powers in administrative services. Kejriwal questioned LG’s inaction in the matter of transfer of services secretary Ashish More, ordered by the government hours after the SC verdict on May 11. The AAP also wondered whether Saxena had put More’s file on hold until the Centre’s ordinance reverting the SC order expected to be implemented next week. “Why is LG Sahib not obeying the SC order? Why hasn’t the Services Secretary signed the file for two days? It is being said that the Center is going to reverse the SC order by bringing an ordinance next week? Is the central government plotting to overturn the SC order? Is LG Sahib waiting for the ordinance, that’s why not signing the file?” he wrote in a tweet in Hindi.
In the letter, the lieutenant governor said that in the past one week, a “gloomy face of governance” emerged in Delhi where “organised, structured and specialised administrative machinery” is yet again facing the “brunt” of “highhandedness” of the political executive. “I write to you to bring to your notice the unconstitutional brazenness, intimidation and disregard of rules and procedures being indulged into by your government and its ministers, especially...(Services) Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, ever since the Constitution Bench judgment of the Supreme Court dated 11.05.2023,” Saxena’s letter read.
The L-G’s letter referred to the allegation of Services Secretary Ashish More, who was removed by the AAP dispensation, against minister Saurabh Bharadwaj.
Alleging a “chaotic style of governance”, Saxena claimed that decisions were being conveyed to him through Twitter and the media and that he was being held to ransom through consistent media pressure for agreeing to the recommendations made by the Minister (Services) without application of mind. “A witch-hunt, harassment of officers, media trials, threats and street postures were resorted to so as to ensure that the Lt. Governor discharges his duties as per the whims and fancies of the Ministers of GNCTD. I am enclosing a chronology of events following the CB Judgment dated 11.05.2023 for your ready reference,” he said.
Saxena also flagged instances of alleged “misbehaviour” by Services Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj with IAS officers, including a woman officer. He also referred to allegations of alleged trespass in an officer’s chamber and “taking unlawful custody of certain files, which were related to cases of corruption like those in the new Excise Policy and the residence of the Hon’ble Chief Minister, among others, that were being looked into by the Department”.
“Moreover, vehement and unreasonable demands for removal of the head of administration of GNCTD, the Chief Secretary, and casting aspersions on him of putting undue influence on other two members of the Civil Services Board, as evident from the minutes of the CSB dated May 16, 2023, are an oxymoron, since every meeting including that of the Council of Ministers is headed by a person and that person can, as per your logic, coerce the other members present in the meeting as per his wishes since he is senior,” the letter stated. Without naming the officer, the Lieutenant Governor wrote, “The officer with close to two decades of professional experience while elaborating the misbehaviour meted out to him by Shri Bhardwaj, mentions that when he was forced to sign a dictated statement of Minister, he was intimidated with the minister shouting ‘sign kar, aise kaise sign nahi karega.. Tere ko karna hi padega. Isske baad tera career khatam. Teri toh zindagi barbaad karke rahunga. Iss Dilli... Chiarg Dilli ka rahena wala hu’ (Sign it, you have to sign. After that, your career is over. I will ruin your life. I hail from Chirag Dilli).” Again in the presence of another lady IAS officer, the Minister said: “turn dono ka career toh ab khatam hai. Turn log elected government ki baat nahi sunte ho. Chief Secretary ke behkaave mein aakar elected government se panga le rahe ho, main abhi dektha hoon aage turn log naukri kaise karte ho. You will lose your job and ultimately job bachane ke liya tumko mere pass hi aana hoga. Tab dekhunga tum dono ko.” Saxena asked Kejriwal to take his letter in “right stead and spirit and ensure concrete action for the mitigation of issues” raised by him.
Earlier in the day, Bharadwaj requested the lieutenant governor (LG) to clear the file related to the transfer of Services Secretary More, saying several administrative changes were held up due to the delay. In a letter to the LG, Bharadwaj said the Delhi government had sent the file two days back.
More was transferred hours after a Supreme Court order on May 11 put the control of bureaucrats working with the Delhi government (excluding those related to police, public order, and land) under the elected government. Urging Saxena to clear the file soon, Bharadwaj said, “We had sent a proposal to change the Secretary (Services) two days back.”
