Bye, bye anti-corruption branch: In battling Jung, has Arvind Kejriwal lost his biggest asset?

Bye, bye anti-corruption branch: In battling Jung, has Arvind Kejriwal lost his biggest asset?

In the messy tussle for power between L-G Jung and the Delhi government led by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), is chief minister Arvind Kejriwal staring at a bigger loss than he had bargained for?

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Bye, bye anti-corruption branch: In battling Jung, has Arvind Kejriwal lost his biggest asset?

In the messy tussle for power between Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Najeeb Jung and the Delhi government led by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), is chief minister Arvind Kejriwal staring at a bigger loss than he bargained for?

According to the latest notification by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government has been barred from registering any case against officers and political leaders of the central government. This effectively translates into the ACB coming under the control of the L-G.

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The AAP was a result of the ‘India Against Corruption’ movement and the party was voted to power on the anti-corruption plank. The party had promised that if it came to power, it would free Delhi of corruption. The ACB, is a part of the Delhi Police but unlike its parent body, reports to the CM of the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi through Directorate of Vigilance. It is one of the biggest tools in the hands of the AAP government to fulfil its poll promise and prove its integrity to the voters of Delhi.

L-G Najeeb Jung and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.

But is Kejriwal now looking at the possibility of losing grip over this body?

“The ACB is a small offshoot of the NCT and it can book cases only against Delhi officials and not against officials of central government or officials of state government. That is why the central government issued the notification as a clarification. The Delhi government can’t use this tool to book central government officials, central ministers or corporate leaders belonging to other states on anti-corruption charges. Its jurisdiction is limited to Delhi alone,” S K Sharma, former secretary of Delhi Assembly, said.

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During their first 49-day stint, the AAP government had filed cases against Union ministers in the UPA government and top industrialists. In July 2014, while Delhi was under President’s rule, the MHA had issued a notification which stated that the ACB had jurisdiction only over Delhi government officials. The fear of the Delhi government may come true as the Centre’s move may deprive Kejriwal of the anti-graft body.

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“Citing the MHA notification, the L-G in his next move may also take control of the ACB, justifying that he being a representative of the President of India and administrator of the Government of the NCT of Delhi, has full control over law & order and police, and this anti-corruption body is a part of Delhi Police,“a senior government official said.

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According to sources, the MLAs at the meeting at the residence of Kejriwal on Sunday afternoon reportedly discussed the MHA notification, the Centre’s alleged attempt to ‘gag’ the ACB and the strategy of the AAP government to counter the notification.

An AAP MLA told Firstpost on condition of anonymity, “The Home Ministry’s notification is not only unconstitutional but illegal as well. It’s an attempt to give absolute power to the L-G. The notification is an insult to Delhi public, who elected us to form a government in Delhi with a huge mandate.”

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The MLA added, “We may move a resolution against the MHA’s notification during the two-day ‘emergency session’ of the Assembly. The government is also exploring the legal option against the notification. In this emergency session, deliberations will be on the Home Ministry’s notification and issues related to sharing of power between the elected government and the L-G.”

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Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish Sisodia told a news channel, “We’ve ended corruption in government departments in just three months. But, the L-G failed to control corruption during the President’s rule in Delhi and now he wants to usurp the authority. Except land, law & order and police, the rest of the departments are with the Delhi government. It’s a conspiracy of the Centre against us and through muscle-flexing it wants to gag us. The Centre is trying to have control over Delhi by violating the nation’s federal system but, we won’t let it happen.”

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The fear of the Delhi government on the issue may not be a misplaced one. If the L-G manages to have his way with the help of the notification, then Kejriwal will lose control over the anti-graft body.

“In the Sunday meeting, the legal opinions from constitutional experts regarding this issue were discussed,” a source said.

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Meanwhile, the opinions of the experts on constitutional law have weighed in favour of Delhi government. While, former Solicitor General of India Gopal Subramanium raised concerns on the process followed during the issuing of the notification by the MHA, senior Supreme Court advocate KK Venugopal opined that in a democratically elected government, the public services of the state should be controlled by that government. Kejriwal had termed the notification as “backstabbing the people of the City.”

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