The Delhi Government has come down heavily on the Centre appointed Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar as the senior AAP leader and Delhi Minister on Wednesday sought his explanation regarding the provisions that empower him to bypass the ‘elected Government while sending the file to the Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena office’.

Bhardwaj on Tuesday accused the CS of trying to manipulate MCD Mayor elections by appointing BJP Councillor to preside over Mayor elections that are scheduled on Friday. Seeking an explanation till 6 pm on Wednesday in a letter to Kumar, he said, “In your communication as attached in Annexure-A, you have quoted section 77(a) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act and Sec.45 (I) 4(viii) of GNCTD Amendment Act as the reason for bypassing the Minister UD while sending the file for appointment of presiding officer to elections of Mayor of MCD.”

Slamming Kumar for ‘failing to explain his misconduct for obvious reasons’, Bhardwaj said, “It is clear that there has been no recent amendment in section 77(a) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, and it is same as it was in 2023-24 as well, so you should have followed the same practice which was followed for last year and many years before that.”

The note has also been copied to Saxena. “While the file being discussed is not related to any

disqualification of voters in elections of MCD, rather is related to appointment of Presiding officer for the elections of Mayor of MCD. You are directed to explain how the above mentioned Sections permit you to send the file to LG bypassing the undersigned (Minister (UD),” Bhardwaj asserted.

Calling the matter ‘urgent’ since elections of Mayor of MCD is scheduled on Friday, the Minister said, “please send your explanation by 6 pm on today.”

On Tuesday, In a letter to the Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, the Minister wrote, “Please refer to the ‘Annexure A’ which shows the movement of the file related to appointment of Presiding Officer for conducting elections of Mayor for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. As your goodself is well aware that this is a transferred subject and as per the Constitution of India, this subject is under the control of the Elected Government of Delhi.”

He states that unlike the previous years in which the file was routed through the Minister of Urban Development, the CS tried bypassing the Delhi government. Bhardwaj said, “However, as it is clearly evident from the file movement, the CS Naresh Kumar has deliberately bypassed the undersigned. He is very well aware that CM is in Judicial Custody, however he knowingly sent the file to the office of CM and as expected he got that file returned to him. And then he sent the file directly to your goodself.”

He requested the Centre appointed LG to take appropriate action against Kumar for “his deliberate and repeated misconduct” while also requesting Saxena to return the file to CS and direct Kumar to send the file through Bhardwaj.