Najeeb Jung vs Kejriwal govt: 5 issues over which they fought over

Delhi lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung’s shock resignation on Thursday came after months of acrimony with the Aam Aadmi Party government – a feud that saw governance in the Capital suffer.

Since chief minister Arvind Kejriwal stormed to power in 2014, his administration has been locked in a bitter power tussle with Jung that has ranged from control of police to bureaucratic appointments and clearance of files.

Here’s a look at the top five contentious issues:

1. The Anti-Corruption Bureau

The Delhi government appointed SS Yadav as ACB chief but the L-G rejected that appointment and replaced him with MS Meena. The ACB is a pet project of Kejriwal, who had promised during his election campaign that he would use the bureau to cleanse the Capital of corruption.

2. Appointment of senior bureaucrats

AAP government opposed the appointment of Shakuntala Gamlin as acting chief secretary and Dharam Pal as home secretary. Delhi government gave additional charge of home to principal secretary to CM, Rajendra Kumar. L-G refused to back down, creating a peculiar situation where the city had two home secretaries.

3. Transfer of officials

The AAP government repeatedly alleged that Jung transferred officials handling key offices such as Mohalla clinics and education reforms. The party also went to the judiciary but the high court decided that Jung was the final administrative authority in the city.

4. AAP government order struck down by Jung

Last year, AAP suspended special secretary (prisons) Subhash Chandra and special secretary (prosecution) Yashpal Garg for “insubordination” after they allegedly refused to sign a cabinet note pertaining to a salary hike. But Jung and the Centre revoked the suspension after a day-long strike.

AAP government’s appointment of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission chief was revoked. Jung dissolved the Delhi Waqf Board and scrapped a probe ordered into allegations of financial irregularities in the Delhi and District Cricket Association.

5. Face-off over vector-borne diseases

A foreign trip by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia stoked a controversy earlier this year after Jung sought details of expenditure.

The L-G also faxed Sisodia to cut short his Finland trip at the height of the dengue outbreak in the Capital in September.

The next day, health minister Satyender Jain rushed to Jung’s house and alleged that the L-G was acting at the behest of the Centre to discredit the city government during the city’s worst mosquito-borne disease outbreak in years.