DNA In-depth: How AAP wasted a bumper mandate in Delhi

In February 2015, the AAP surpassed the wildest of expectations and swept the Delhi Assembly elections. The Congress, in power for three terms, got no seat. A resurgent BJP was routed in the city-state from which it ruled the country. It was the second-biggest election victory in India's history — 67 of the total 70 seats. People of Delhi had never showed so much love for any other party.

But three years since AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal was sworn in as Chief Minister, the unprecedented mandate seems to have been lost — amid ugly fights for greater control over the national capital.

The alleged assault of Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by two AAP MLAs at the Chief Minister's residence on Monday midnight is unprecedented and marks a complete breakdown of the already soured equations between Kejriwal and bureaucrats.

But the AAP has always been locked in territorial battles with officials led by the Lieutenant Governor (L-G), who reports to the BJP government at the Centre. While governance has taken a severe beating, the AAP has been saying that the L-G office blocks its decisions — an allegation denied by the Centre.

In the last three years, the AAP government has had numerous stand-offs with the bureaucracy and the Centre, over various issues like appointment of officials and alleged misuse of investigative agencies. One such confrontation broke when Kejriwal's Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar was arrested by the CBI in 2016 for alleged corruption.

Manisha Saxena, secretary of the IAS Association, said officers have been insulted and humiliated in public. "It is about the safety and dignity of all Delhi government employees. It is no more a state matter," he said. The body is observing a five-minute silence every day to express their anger over the assault.

"Bullying happens in many ways. This government and its MLAs harass officers and force them to write things which are unheard of. No government does that to any officer. Being nasty to officers does not help," said a senior IAS officer.

Last week itself, Kejriwal directed the head of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), Shurbir Singh, to better the condition of community toilets and sought a status report. He also directed Singh to visit community toilets himself at peak usage time every day and share video reports with Board members.

The AAP has its own defence. "The kind of non-cooperation we receive from bureaucrats is unprecedented. Unlike previous governments, MLAs are approachable to the public. They feel bad when works in their constituencies are not done. They fight for residents. They face the public personally," said Atishi Marlena, adviser to Deputy CM Manish Sisodia. "Sometimes, they question even us on project delays," she said.

L-G vs AAP

AAP leader Ashutosh called L-G Anil Baijal a BJP agent for his "biases" — an allegation the previous L-G also faced quite frequently. Najeeb Jung's 42-month tenure as Delhi L-G that ended in December 2016 was mostly marked by a bitter power struggle with the AAP government that often affected governance. His resignation came 18 months before his five-year tenure was to end in 2018. He had to reverse several decisions taken by the Delhi government, saying he had not been consulted.

The AAP has maintained that Delhi's elected government should have a greater say in governance matters. It moved the Delhi High Court, which said in August 2016 that the L-G was the city's administrative boss. "You are the policy makers but the implementation belongs to the bureaucrats. One cannot interfere in each other's working," said Sheila Dikshit, Congress leader and three-time Delhi CM.

Bone of Contention

Article 239AA of the Constitution is unique to Delhi that appears to give the L-G more powers, unlike in other Union Territories. Delhi has an elected Assembly. But public order, land, police and services are controlled by the Centre via a Lt Governor. In other areas like health, education and urban development, the city government is more or less free to implement its agenda. In Delhi, the L-G is not like a governor of a state. In a state, the council of ministers is supreme.

A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court is hearing an appeal filed by the AAP government against the High Court order that had ruled that the L-G was essentially the boss in the national capital. The top court said in November last year that the AAP government needs the L-G's nod to govern Delhi.

The court indicated that, according to the Constitution, the L-G appeared to have the last word and the elected government would have to operate within this framework. However, the top court has said that the L-G must clear files within a reasonable period of time and provide specific reasons for delay, if any. In case there were differences between the state and the L-G, the matter was to be referred to the President's office for clarification.

Former Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta said better coordination is needed to ensure smooth governance. "It is all about coordination. We have all faced similar power tussles, but there was never such an escalation." There should be a good understanding between the elected and appointed representatives of the state, he said. "In Delhi, no one is completely powerful. The power has been deliberately distributed at various levels."

Past Fights

In 2015, the AAP government opposed the appointment of senior IAS officer Shakuntala Gamlin as the acting Delhi Chief Secretary. Kejriwal accused Gamlin of favouring power companies and said that she wanted to trick the government into signing documents which would give Rs. 11,000 crore to these firms.

The same year, the Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS) officers went on a mass leave against the suspension of two Special Home Secretaries by city minister Satyendar Jain. The IAS officers had boycotted work for half a day in support of DANICS officers.

In November last year, Kejriwal wrote to then Chief Secretary MM Kutty, asking him to initiate proceedings of "dereliction of duty" against then PWD Secretary Ashwani Kumar over delays in de-silting of drains. Kumar hit back and said, "Negativity and squabbling attitude" does not work in such a challenging task. In June 2017, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also sought action against DIP (Directorate of Information and Publicity) Director Jayadev Sarangi for not arranging his Facebook Live event to address traders' issues.

Internal Crises

The party has also been facing internal crises for long. In 2015, the party threw out senior members Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan and others. In 2017, the AAP government sacked Water Minister Kapil Mishra from its Cabinet. Senior leader Kumar Vishwas has also been attacking Kejriwal over a host of issues.

The arrest of two AAP MLAS for Monday midnight's assault is nothing new. That several AAP MLAs have been arrested and released for all sorts of crime during this period has not helped the party's cause. AAP says most MLAs were arrested at the BJP-led Centre's behest to avenge the loss of 2015 Assembly elections. The Delhi police that reports to the Centre denies the charge, saying it is just not possible to randomly pick people up because ultimately cases reach courts where flimsy charges would not stick.

In January, the President accepted the Election Commission's recommendations and disqualified 20 AAP MLAs. There is no immediate threat to the government as it still has the numbers in the Delhi Legislative Assembly, but the charge — Office of Profit — that led to the action has demoralised the party.

The Latest Assault

CS Prakash said he was assaulted over delays in release of advertisements to highlight the government's achievements. The AAP has denied the assault charge and said the meeting had been called to discuss complaints on ration distribution, and the official in fact made derogatory remarks against the MLAs.

But Kejriwal's own adviser, VK Jain, has told the police that he saw AAP MLAs assault Delhi's top bureaucrat. Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said there was an agenda to derail the work done by the AAP government for Delhi. "A heated argument is not a big deal but the claims made by the CS are baseless."

AAP alleged that the Delhi police pressured Jain to change his statement, a ploy to destabilise the party's government in Delhi. Party leader Sanjay Singh said that Jain had said in his first statement to the police that the alleged assault happened when he was in the bathroom and he did not know what had happened in the room.

"Why did Jain change his stand within a day? Under whose pressure was he forced to change his statement? Jain was picked up by the police and pressured to change his statement," he said. Delhi police chief spokesperson Dependra Pathak said the department was only following rules and procedures.

THE CONFLICT

• The AAP goverment has had several stand-offs with the Centre. The party claims that the L-G office blocks its decisions and has also accused bureaucrats of non-cooperation.
   
• Whereas according to a section of senior IAS officers, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government and its MLAs are guilty of harassing officers.

THE COURT BATTLE

• The AAP has maintained that Delhi’s elected government should have a greater say in governance matters.
   
• It moved the Delhi High Court, which said in August 2016 that the L-G was the city’s administrative boss.
   
• Supreme Court is hearing an appeal filed by the AAP government against the High Court order.
   
• The top court said in November last year that the AAP government needs the L-G’s nod to govern Delhi.
   
• However, the top court has said that the L-G must clear files within a reasonable period of time and provide specific reasons for delay, if any.

THE CAPITAL’S CASE

Article 239 AA of the Constitution is unique to Delhi that appears to give the L-G more powers, unlike in other Union Territories. Delhi has an elected Assembly. But public order, land, police and services are controlled by the Centre via a Lt Governor. In other areas like health, education and urban development, the city government is more or less free to implement its agenda. In Delhi, the L-G is not like a governor of a state.