New Delhi: IAS officers posted with the Government of NCT of Delhi are refusing to follow orders despite the Supreme Court saying that L-G must work harmoniously with his ministers, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Thursday.
The latest confrontation is because of a differing interpretation of the Supreme Court’s orders, which were delivered in its verdict on Wednesday.
While the 585-page SC verdict gives primacy to the elected government, it does not specifically mention “services" or any other specific department.
According to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the order makes it clear that apart from the three reserved subjects – land, police and public order – all subjects fall under the purview of the state government. However, sources said Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash had written a note to Sisodia on Wednesday night saying the order does not specifically quash the 2015 notification that took the services department away from the Delhi government.
This came after Delhi Government, mere hours after the Supreme Court verdict, issued a notification saying that orders and postings would revert to the old, pre-2015 system where it was under the Council of Ministers.
“The Supreme Court order has made things very clear about how the system is supposed to function in Delhi and what the constitutional framework is. It is unfortunate that despite that officers have refused to listen to those orders. If the orders of the courts are rejected by the officers, how will democracy function? This will lead to chaos," Sisodia said on Thursday morning.
Taking a dig at the Centre, he said, “Maybe the Centre didn’t like it or the L-G didn’t like it or some officers didn’t like it. But it doesn’t matter if you like it or not, you have to follow the court’s orders. Two years ago, the High Court gave orders against the elected government of Delhi. We still respected the orders."
Explaining the Delhi Government’s interpretation of the SC verdict, Sisodia said, “The order said the Centre has power on only three subjects. It also said Centre has power on no other subjects but these three. On all other transferred subjects, the executive power lies with the legislative Assembly and Delhi’s Council of Ministers. There is no room for doubt. After this, the services subject can in no way be under the Centre. Officers are saying that they won’t follow orders since the MHA notification from 2015 has not been quashed. This is a violation of court orders. The highest court of the land has issued orders, now there is no room for doubt."
Comments
0 comment