A day after the Lt Governor Najeeb Jung of Delhi sought opinion of the Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran on the Aam Aadmi Party’s Jan Lokpal Bill, AAP leader Ashutosh called Jung “an agent of the Congress party”. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also met Jung on Friday expressing reservations on Jung’s view and insisting that his bill was constitutional.
“Anything that has gone to Lt Governor, it has become public through the media. Lt Governor Najeeb Jung is acting an agent of the Congress and he is trying to malign the image of the AAP government,” party spokesperson Ashutosh said.
The CM also shot a letter to the LG explaining that his bill was legal and that the LG should not protect the interests of the Centre. In his letter to Jung he wrote, “Now it is for you to decide whether you will be able to stand up to the pressure or not. You are a genuine person. But I humbly want to suggest to you that you had taken an oath to protect the Constitution and not the interest of any party or the home ministry.”
The government had sent its draft of the Lokpal Bill to L-G on Thursday. Soon after, it was leaked to the media that the L-G sent the draft to the Solicitor General to seek his opinion and the Solicitor General termed the draft unconstitutional. “I was surprised when I heard on television about Solicitor General’s opinion. On which bill you had sought Solicitor General’s opinion as we had sent the draft to you only in the evening and on which bill he had given you opinion,” he said. “How has the Solicitor General declared the bill as unconstitutional without reading it?” Kejriwal asked.
Kejrwal also pointed out that only where the bill is clashing with the center legislation, it will need president’s assent. “Excluding three topics the Constitution allows the Delhi Assembly to legislate on all issues,” he said. “Nowhere in the constitution does it say that the nod of the central government is necessary before the bill is produced in the assembly,” he said.
Kejriwal said the jurisdiction of the Delhi assembly has been decided by the Constitution. “Can the Central government curb that jurisdiction by passing an order,” Kejriwal said.
He told the Lt Governor that he had taken oath of loyalty to the Constitution and loyalty to any party or ministry of home affairs. “I am not leaking this letter, I am making this letter available to the public,” Kejriwal said.
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