SC’s message is to work in harmony

The sum and substance of the Supreme Court verdict on who is the boss of Delhi is to LG and CM to work in harmony. Both the Lieutenant Governor and the Chief Minister have been asked to work together harmoniously. SC has said that neither absolutism nor anarchism has any room. As the duly elected govt. is directly accountable to the people of Delhi, SC has given it an upper hand in running the city administration. L-G is bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. He can send any matter for President’s reference if he is not clear on it but at the same time, the apex court has said that he cannot send every matter. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s Council of Ministers has to communicate the decision taken by them to L-G but concurrence is not required. In nutshell, it can be said that the apex court has asked LG and CM to work harmoniously and if there arises any difference, they can themselves sort it out. The Supreme Court has left the Constitution untouched in regard to Delhi. Constitutionally, land, public order and police will remain be under the control of Central Govt. Delhi Govt. has no control over land, public order and police. Delhi is not a full state. It is a Union Territory and will remain so. The city is not only the capital of Delhi but also of the entire nation. In the given situation, it is out of the question that Delhi will ever be conferred with full statehood in any way. No Central Govt. would ever like Delhi to become a full-fledged capital. Chief Minister Kejriwal has been shifting the blame of failure in working on the Central Govt. for the last three years. In reality, he has delivered no promise. With the Supreme Court decision favourably bent toward the Kejriwal govt., it has only two years to go. Before Kejriwal, former CM Sheila Dikshit ruled Delhi for 15 years in a row but never arose any difference with the LG in her tenure. So, Delhi Govt. should work harmoniously with LG for the development of Delhi. 3 years of the precious time of Kejriwal govt. was lost in bickering with Central Govt. and LG. Now the time has come to work for the development of Delhi in harmony with LG. Now, no excuse of the Kejriwal govt. would be acceptable that Centre or LG creates the problem and that is why they are helpless. Kejriwal must also stop demanding full statehood for Delhi as it would never fructify no matter which political party rules at the Centre. Most of the promises made by Kejri to Delhiites remain unfulfilled. Now, his first priority must be to deliver on the promises one by one in the remaining two years. Otherwise, coming back to power would be a hard nut to crack in 2020 assembly elections for AAP.