Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena has complained to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that Ministers of the Delhi Government have refused to meet him in the past few days on the issues related to citizens. He had convened these meetings to ensure smooth governance in the wake of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest and subsequent events.

Giving details, Raj Niwas Secretariat officials said the issues especially pertained to public health infrastructure in the city and the impeding Summer Action Plan for water availability.  Saxena had asked for a meeting with the Ministers twice on March 29 and April two, they said.

However, Ministers of Delhi Government, especially Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj under fire from the Delhi High Court over lack of health infrastructure in the city, instead of solving issues, indulged in public mud-slinging and refused to meet the LG citing lame excuses. Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in connection with a money-laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.

Bhardwaj upon being asked for a meeting on 29.03.2024 sent a text to the LG Secretariat that read, "We wanted agenda for this meeting with the LG…I do not think meeting can be called without directions of the CM. Please convey." 

Bharadwaj, however, said the Constitution does not give the LG the power to issue directions on subjects such as health and water.

He said, "I am surprised that a person sitting on a constitutional post is writing a letter and there is no mention of any provision of the Constitution. I want to ask which provision of the Constitution empowers the L-G to issue directions on transferred subjects like health, water, etc. I write to him about the issue related to health. He says it is a transferred subject."

Bharadwaj said he had received a WhatsApp message and claimed he was not informed about the agenda of the meeting. "What was that secret meeting about? When they wrote the agenda, I told them it was a transferred subject. If you want to run Delhi, contest elections. It won't work that you will run the Government from the backdoor," he said.

Upon being shared the agenda for the meeting to be reconvened on 02.04.2024, Bhardwaj made the lame excuse of Model Code of Conduct being in effect, despite his colleagues going public with a supposed letter from Chief Minister from Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody, asking Ministers to take advice of the LG if necessary in solving public issues.

Other key Ministers of the Delhi Government — Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot and Atishi Marlena have also shown lack of seriousness and insensitivity and declined to attend the meeting with Saxena on the matters affecting the day-to-day lives of the citizens of Delhi in the aftermath of arrest of Kejriwal, the letter from LG Secretariat to MHA reads.

"The LG believes that a consultation of this nature was warranted so that routine works of governance are not hampered in the backdrop of arrest and detention of the chief minister," the LG's letter added.

The rationale adduced for not attending the meeting appears vague and exhibits lack of seriousness and insensitivity to matters affecting the day-to-day lives of the citizens of Delhi, the LG secretariat said.

This communication by the LG Secretariat to the Union Home Secretary assumes significance as on April 4, Bhardwaj who had declined to attend the meeting convened by Saxena had written a note to him highlighting the severe shortage of basic medical supplies at Dr Hedgewar Arogya Sansthan and Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya.

The very next day, the LG shot back expressing deep concerns regarding the "deteriorating" state of the 'Delhi Model' of healthcare delivery, likening it to being on "life support ventilator"

The LG had reminded Bhardwaj of disregarding his invitations to discuss critical healthcare issues and criticised his tendency to deflect responsibility and propagate misleading narratives.

While Kejriwal was in the ED Custody, Atishi Marlena had claimed that the Chief Minister had written a note to her to take care of the issues of water and sewage in the national Capital and if necessary take advice of the LG.

A similar note appeared for Bhardwaj relating to the health and medical infrastructure. In both the cases, questions were raised as to how such notes can be written in ED custody.

Reacting to the LG's note, Delhi BJP candidate from South Delhi and Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said the AAP Government's Ministers are not serious and they are busy in lip service.  Every day, AAP Ministers address four to five Press conference but they don't have time to attend the meeting for the people of Delhi.