Modi government is still the boss, Arun Jaitley tells Kejriwal in a Facebook post

A day after the Supreme Court set the broad parameters for separation of powers between the Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and elected Arvind Kejriwal government, Union minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said that the Centre still had an upper hand in the national capital. Writing on his Facebook page, Arun Jaitley said the Centre has "overriding" powers in Delhi.

He said, "The opinion of the court gives due importance to the opinion of the elected State Government but maintains the primacy of the Central Government in the larger interest of the national capital."

Jaitley writes, "Ordinarily...the Lieutenant Governor should accept the exercise of power by the State. But if it has good and cogent reasons supported by material to disagree, he can record the same in writing and refer the same to the President (i.e. the Central Government), which will resolve the difference of opinion between the State Government and the Lieutenant Governor."

"The decision of the Central Government will be binding both on the Lieutenant Governor and the elected State Government. Thus hereto the opinion of



the Centre is overriding," Jaitley asserts in his Facebook post.

Nuancing his viewpoint on the Supreme Court judgment, the Union minister says that the Arvind Kejriwal government cannot order fresh probe into past crimes. He writes, the Kejriwal government "cannot set up investigative agency to investigate crimes as had been done in the past."

On the issue of Services, Jaitley said, that "any presumption that the administration of the UT cadre of services has been decided in favour of the Delhi Government would be wholly erroneous."

Incidentally, the Kejriwal government moved a file for transfer of officials on Wednesday soon after the Supreme Court judgment. But the Secretary (Services) returned the file to the office of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia saying that the power of transfer lies with the Delhi LG.

Jaitley also has a word of advice for the Arvind Kejriwal government. He says, "The Council of Ministers being headed by the Chief Minister should be guided by values and prudence accepting the constitutional position that the NCT of Delhi is not a State."