#dnaEdit: Is this federalism?

The central government has finally chosen to reveal its hand in the running feud between Delhi’s lieutenant-governor (LG) Najeeb Jung and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal through the home ministry (MHA) notification emphatically backing Jung. But, in the coming days, it may find it increasingly difficult to take cover behind LG Jung. The strong criticism mounted by Kejriwal against Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a clear indication that the gloves are finally off. The MHA has laid down two directives that significantly curtail the Delhi government’s powers. The first directive empowers the LG on matters of public order, police, land, and services, while only in services, the LG “may, in his discretion, obtain the views” of the Chief Minister, “wherever he deems appropriate”. But where the Centre appears to have shot itself in the foot is the second directive that forbids the Delhi government’s Anti-Corruption Branch(ACB) from taking “any cognisance of offences against officers, employees and functionaries of the central government”.

In one stroke, the Centre has provided an investigation shield to the IAS and IPS officers belonging to the AGMUT(Arunachal, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories) cadre, Group-B officers belonging to the DANICS (Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Civil Service) cadre, DDA officials and all Delhi Police personnel. This is patently unfair to the Delhi government and cannot be accepted by any self-respecting elected state government. In states across India, the vigilance department/anti-corruption bureaus have powers to lodge FIRs, conduct raids and make arrests — against IAS/IPS officers too — though the prosecution sanction for IAS/IPS officers must come from the Centre. By not allowing the Delhi ACB to even register FIRs against these officials, the ACB has been rendered a toothless outfit. But where the Aam Aadmi Party government will benefit politically is that the ACB has clearly fed into a long-felt public need. Over 1.25 lakh calls were logged within a month of the ACB helpline being launched in April. Consequently several officers belonging to the police, education, water departments and municipal corporations were arrested. Sensing its popularity, the government nearly doubled the ACB’s annual budget from Rs8 crore to Rs15 crore and 40 inspector posts were sanctioned to ensure that 40 teams investigate graft cases concurrently.

That LG Jung was functioning as a proxy had become clear as the impasse over appointing an acting chief secretary for a mere 10 days dragged over into the second week. For those operating within the Constitutional framework of parliamentary democracy, there must be no confusion that an elected government should have the discretion to appoint officials of its choice. In all states, this is the norm. A question that needs to be asked about the hazy rules that deny the Delhi government the privilege to appoint bureaucrats is: why then have elections and an elected assembly or a council of ministers? If the central government believes that the investigation shield to public servants will turn bureaucratic loyalties away from the state government, it forgets the watchful eye of the public. It is only three months ago that the Delhi public punished the hubris of the Modi government by awarding a 67-seat mandate to the down-and-out AAP. Prudence would dictate a more conciliatory approach in the spirit of cooperative federalism that has been among PM Modi’s favourite slogans. The BJP appears to be goading Kejriwal to hit the streets so they can taunt him with the anarchist tag and his neglect of governance. But the BJP should be wary of other political parties backing AAP and of finding itself isolated on yet another political minefield. 

There have been past instances when the Centre weighed in favour of Delhi Chief Ministers during tussles with the LG, and of issues being harmoniously settled. The path of confrontation currently pursued by both parties will have a dampening effect on the grand promises they made to the electorate.