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Advani cancels meeting with Kejriwal

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Advani-Kejriwal

New Delhi: Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Krishna Advani cancelled his meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal scheduled for Friday evening.

According to informed sources, the meeting was cancelled following pressure from the BJP.

“To save party from further embarrassment, it was decided that the BJP leader should not meet the Delhi CM,” a BJP source told IANS.

Already in the line of opposition’s fire over the Lalit Modi issue, the ruling BJP was further driven to a corner over remarks of party senior leader L.K. Advani that he did not rule out another “Emergency-like situation” in the country.

Kejriwal was among the first to respond to Advani’s interview published in the Indian Express.

“Advani ji is correct in saying that emergency can’t be ruled out. Is Delhi their first experiment?” he tweeted in an apparent reference to his ugly power tussle with the Centre.

After Advani’s remark, Kejriwal sought a meeting with him. Advani earlier agreed to meet him on Friday evening.

(IANS)

Tomar row: Congress asks Centre to act against Irani, Katheria

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Smriti Irani

New Delhi: Latching on to the arrest of former Delhi Minister Jitender Tomar, Congress today demanded that Centre should also be pro-active in cases related to Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Ram Shankar Katheria.

“The way they have proceeded against Tomar, they should do likewise against Irani and Katheria”, party spokesman Ajay Maken said in reply to a volley of questions from reporters.

Detractors of Irani have accused the HRD Minister of giving wrong information about her educational qualifications whereas Katheria is facing a marksheet forgery case. Irani was alleged to have provided contradictory affidavits of her educational qualifications to the Election Commission.

Maken, who is also the Delhi PCC Chief, demanded that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should quit in the wake of the arrest of Tomar.

This, he claimed, was necessary as the issue of Tomar’s “fake” law degree was raised inside AAP before the Assembly elections, but Kejriwal had ignored it. Tomar was not only given the AAP ticket, but was also made a Minister by Kejriwal despite knowing fully well the charges against him.

Maken faulted Kejriwal for doing precious little to promote transparency and accountability in the government despite getting a huge mandate from the people of Delhi.

Recalling that Kejriwal had last time resigned as Chief Minister after 49 days in power citing his failure to bring the Jan Lokpal bill, but now he has not acted over the matter.
Besides, he said that there has been no Lokayukta in Delhi for long, but Kejriwal has not cared to fill the post till now. He noted that Kejriwal had also removed L Ramdas who was working as the internal Lokpal in AAP.

Earlier in the day, scores of protesters led by the Maken and senior party leader PC Chacko marched towards the Delhi Secretariat demanding the resignation of Kejriwal.
Meanwhile, former Union Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram took a dig at the Centre over the developments in Delhi.

“Orders & counter orders of Delhi CM & LG (read Union government) are fine examples of Acche din, and maximum governance !”, Chidambaram said in a tweet.

Another party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi wondered through a tweet: “Is the delhi law minister post jinxed? First Somnath Bharati now TOMAR!”. The obvious reference was Bharati forced to resign as Law Minister during the first stint of AAP in power in the wake of a controversy.

“Forged BSC degree, forged LLB degree, fake marksheet. And Mr Tomar & AAP expected soft treatement?”, Singhvi said attacking AAP in another tweet.

(PTI)

Domestic violence complaint against AAP's Somnath Bharti

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Somnath Bharti

New Delhi: Former Delhi law minister and AAP MLA Somnath Bharti is in the news again – this time in a domestic violence complaint case.

The wife of a senior party leader Somnath Bharti on Wednesday approached the Delhi Commission for Women, accusing the Malviya Nagar legislator of domestic abuse.

The DCW has issued a notice to Bharti after his wife, Lipika, filed a case against her husband, a former Law Minister in the first AAP government in the national capital.

During the first Arvind Kejriwal government last year, Bharti had courted controversy for his midnight crackdown on African nationals in his constituency.

The complaint against Bharti came a day after Delhi Law Minister Jitendra Singh Tomar resigned following his arrest in fake degrees case.

Kapil Mishra named new Delhi Law Minister

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kapil-mishra

New Delhi: Mr. Mishra replaces Jitender Singh Tomar who had resigned after his arrest on charge of possessing fake degrees.

Delhi Jal Board vice-chairman Kapil Mishra was on Wednesday named as the new Law Minister replacing Jitender Singh Tomar who had resigned from the post on Tuesday night following his arrest on charge of possessing fake degrees.

“I had a meeting with Arvind (Kejriwal) ji and have been informed about the development (of appointment as the Law Minister),” Mr. Mishra, a first time MLA, told PTI.

Other names which were discussed were Chandani Chowk MLA Alka Lamba, former Law Minister Somnath Bharti (Malviya Nagar) and Kailash Gahlot, legislator from Najafgarh.

Mr. Mishra’s name was also doing rounds for a ministerial berth when AAP had won a landslide victory in February this year. However, he was made the vice-chairman of Delhi Jal Board.

Known as a Kejriwal loyalist, Mr. Mishra has been associated with him since the India Against Corruption (IAC) days.

When Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan upped their ante against the party leadership, he took a lead in starting a signature campaign urging all MLAs to back Mr. Kejriwal.

Mr. Mishra, a former activist with an international organisation, won from Karawal Nagar by a margin of over 44,000 votes and took oath in Sanskrit in the Delhi Assembly.

Mr. Tomar was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly forging his science graduation and law mark sheets and a migration certificate. He was sent to four days police custody by a court.

He had sent his resignation letter through his lawyer from lock-up to the Chief Minister on Tuesday night which was accepted.

(PTI)

Delhi Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar arrested over alleged fake law degree

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Jitender Singh Tomar

New Delhi: In a dramatic escalation of the row between the central and AAP governments, Delhi Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar was arrested here Tuesday over his alleged fake law degree. The AAP cried foul and linked it with its anti-corruption campaign.

Delhi Police, which does not report to the AAP government but to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and the union home ministry, told IANS that Tomar was arrested on charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy and forgery.

The Aam Aadmi Party, which took power in Delhi in February, accused police of roughing up Tomar. Delhi assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel said he wasn’t informed about the arrest.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia accused Lt. Governor Jung of unleashing an “Emergency-like situation” and said vested interests were ganging up against the AAP government because of its anti-corruption campaign. The AAP, he vowed, won’t be cowed down.

A visibly livid Sisodia said although the issue of Tomar’s alleged fake degree was in the court, about 40 policemen swooped on Tomar’s office early in the morning and took him away as if he was a fugitive.

“The police told Tomar they had come to see some documents… They asked him to accompany them to his house. On the way they told his driver to get off and took charge of his vehicle and told him he was being detained.

“They told Tomar that he could ask someone to bring the documents to the police station…

“What is going on?” asked Sisodia. “Was he (Tomar) running away? Did he explode bombs in Delhi? There is an allegation (against him). The matter is in the court. What was the need to arrest him?”

Sisodia added: “There is something wrong… This arrest is illegal. There is an Emergency-like situation. This is supposed to be a democracy… Maybe it is an attempt to teach the AAP a lesson (for what we are doing).”

AAP supporters, including Tomar’s family members, gathered in large numbers at the Vasant Vihar police station in south Delhi where Tomar was being questioned.

Tuesday’s arrest peaked a simmering row between the central and AAP governments over the powers of the Delhi government over the posting and transfer of senior officials. This dispute too is also now facing judicial scrutiny.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh said police arrested Tomar without giving any notice.

“If the case relates to a fake degree, will ministers Smriti Irani and Ram Shanker Katheria (of BJP) will also be taken to police station without any prior notice?” Singh asked.

Tomar told CNN-IBN that he didn’t know why he was arrested. “Around 30-40 policemen asked me to accompany me to the police station without any prior notice.”

He said this was done to tarnish the AAP’s image.

Delhi Police said Tomar would be produced in a court later on Tuesday.

Two cases are pending against Tomar in the Delhi High Court, alleging he enrolled himself as an advocate on the basis of a fake law degree and seeking cancellation of his election. Tomar says his degree is genuine.

The Congress took potshot at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, demanding his resignation as the Tomar episode had punctured his claims of ushering in clean politics. It also sought Tomar’s resignation from the assembly.

(IANS)

Arvind Kejriwal calls Delhi L-G Jung ‘polling’ agent of BJP

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Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tore into lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung and the BJP-led Centre, calling Jung a “polling agent of the BJP, who has turned Raj Niwas into BJP headquarters”.

In one of his sharpest attacks on the L-G and the Centre, Kejriwal also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being vengeful against the government and people of Delhi for the BJP’s defeat in the Delhi assembly polls.

“People of Delhi have voted for us and the rest of the country supported Modi. So, please let us run Delhi and you (Modi) run the country. Don’t create trouble for us everyday through the L-G. This is not being a good PM. Taking revenge for losing Delhi from the people and AAP is not right,” he told a news channel in an interview.

The Delhi CM said Jung does not give time even to deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia or other ministers for a meeting or take his calls. “But if the ‘chowkidar’ (watchman) of (BJP president) Amit Shah calls him (L-G), he will crawl and go,” Kejriwal said.

He said the Centre was trying to corner the Delhi government “using the L-G”. “PM Modi should know I am not Rahul Gandhi… won’t let him run my state,” he said.

He also alleged that the BJP was feeling insecure after the defeat in Delhi polls. “If we replicate our success (of winning 67 out of 70 seats) elsewhere, it will be a big problem for the BJP,” he said. The CM said Jung’s actions are exposing Modi because people are accusing the Prime Minister for the fight between the L-G and Kejriwal government.

He dared the prime minister and the Union home ministry to move court over the transfer and posting of officials, which has been a bone of contention between the Delhi government and the Centre.

When asked why did he lock out one of his senior officials recently, Kejriwal said it was done to prevent the official from doing something “illegal at the behest of the L-G”.

The BJP, meanwhile, strongly criticised Kejriwal for his comments. “He has a habit of using unparliamentary language against constitutional authorities… People have a problem when he is called an anarchist but he behaves like one,” said Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay.

(Agencies)

Delhi government challenges Centre’s notification on LG’s powers

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Najeeb Jung Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: The AAP government on Thursday moved the Delhi High Court challenging the Centre’s recent notification giving the Lieutenant Governor absolute powers in appointing bureaucrats in the national capital.

The petition was mentioned before a bench of justices B.D. Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva, saying, “The Delhi government has decided to move against the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA’s) May 21 notification.”

“As per the notification, the LG would have jurisdiction over matters connected with services, public orders, police and land, and…services of bureaucrats…allowing him discretionary powers to seek the opinion of the CM,” it said.

The petition was mentioned by Delhi government standing counsel Raman Duggal a day after the Centre moved the Supreme Court challenging an order of the Delhi HC which termed as “suspect” MHA’s recent notification barring the city government’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) from acting against its officers in criminal offences.

The HC had also held that the LG cannot act in his discretion.

Mr. Duggal also said that he has challenged all notifications issued by the Centre in the past. The bench has listed the matter for hearing on Friday.

The Delhi government, led by the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, has also challenged the appointment of Shakuntala Gamlin as acting Chief Secretary by the LG.

LG meets Union Home Secretary

Meanwhile, Delhi LG Najeeb Jung met Union Home Secretary L.C. Goyal on Thursday, amidst the ongoing tussle between him and the AAP government.

The meeting came a day after the Delhi Assembly passed a resolution rejecting the Home Ministry notification giving absolute powers to the LG in several matters, including transfer and postings of senior bureaucrats.

After the meeting with the Home Secretary, the LG refused to speak to media persons.

Sources said they discussed the issue of Wednesday’s resolution passed by the Delhi Assembly and the government’s stand in the apex court with regard to the SLP.

(PTI)

AAP tears into Centre's notification, right to impeach LG sought

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AAP

New Delhi: A resolution against the Centre’s decree giving Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung the final say in transfers and postings of bureaucrats was moved on Tuesday in the Delhi assembly while an AAP lawmaker demanded that state legislatures should have the power to impeach governors.

Buoyed by the Delhi High Court’s observation that the lt. governor must act on the advice of the council of ministers, Aam Aadmi Party legislators took turns to criticise the Narendra Modi government’s order giving Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung the final say in matters pertaining to services, police, law and order.

The May 21 notification had also stripped Delhi’s Anti Corruption Branch of its power to act against central government employees.

On the first day of the two-day special session of the assembly called by the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government to discuss the home ministry’s notification, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia moved the resolution, saying the Centre had encroached upon the rights of the Delhi assembly.

“It (notification) is encroachment on the rights of the legislative assembly of Delhi. They (central government) have tried to dilute the spirit of the Constitution,” Sisodia told the assembly.

He said the BJP-led government at the Centre was “unconstitutionally trying to impose President’s Rule in Delhi”.

“This government has taken corruption head-on and achieved unprecedented success. The Centre is trying to thwart Delhi government’s attempts,” Sisodia added.

Taking the tussle with Jung a notch higher, AAP legislator Adarsh Shashtri demanded that a resolution be passed in the assembly to amend the Constitution to enable state legislatures to impeach governors and Lt. Governors.

“We should pass a resolution asking parliament to review the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission and the articles 155 and 156 of the Constitution to allow state legislatures to have the power to impeach governors and Lt. Governors,” Shastri said.

AAP lawmaker Somnath Bharti moved a private member’s resolution against the union home ministry’s notification. The house will take up the resolution on Wednesday and it is likely to be passed.

The resolution moved by Bharti contended that the May 21 central notification was “contrary to and violative of the provisions of the Constitution of India”.

“This house finds this act of the ministry of home affairs as an attempt on the part of the central government to encroach upon the legislative powers of this august house conferred by the Constitution.”

The notification was issued following the ongoing tussle between the AAP government and Lt. Governor Jung over the appointment and transfer of bureaucrats. Both also approached President Pranab Mukherjee to seek his intervention for a resolution of the issue.

Meanwhile, BJP member O.P. Sharma was marshalled out of the assembly after he made critical remarks against Speaker Ram Niwas Goel.

(Agencies)

HC vindicates AAP government in dispute with centre

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Kejriwal has described the Centre’s stand as perfidy and a blatant attempt to provide cover to corrupt officials. He has also said he will challenge the Centre’s notification in court.

arvind-najeeb

New Delhi: In the midst of a dispute with the Centre, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has received vindication in court.

The anti-corruption branch of Delhi, which comes under Delhi Police, must take its orders from Kejriwal’s government and not the Centre, the Delhi High Court said on 25 May.

The judge also said that Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung is “bound to act upon the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers”.

“Today’s judgement is a huge embarassment for the central govt, (sic),” jubilant Kejriwal tweeted.

Last week, the Centre said its officers could not be probed by the ACB, Delhi because it doesn’t have the right to intervene in matters of land, the Delhi Police, or the appointments of key bureaucrats.

The Centre also said the LG, who acts as its representative in Delhi, is not obliged to consult Kejriwal on these issues.

Kejriwal has described the Centre’s stand as perfidy and a blatant attempt to provide cover to corrupt officials. He has also said he will challenge the Centre’s notification in court.

The clash between the Centre and Kejriwal is over how their powers are divided in Delhi’s administration, a union territory.

Earlier in the day, in a maverick move, he summoned a cabinet meeting at a city public park and sought the attendance of the “aam aadmi” or common man that his party is named after.

Kejriwal lashes out at MHA notification, says Modi govt trying to run Delhi through backdoor

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Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: After being issued a notification from the Home Ministry detailing just what powers he actually had, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hit back alleging that the notification was an attempt to protect the corrupt and that the Narendra Modi government was trying to run the Delhi government through the Lieutenant-Governor.

The Delhi chief minister called the Centre’s notification “a gift from the Modi government for completing a year in office” and clarifying his relationship with the Lieutenant Governor, Kejriwal said “Jung saab ke saath koi Jung nahi hai” (There is no war with Jung).

However, he said that Lieutenant Governor has no actual powers as all his orders come from the top.

“Pre independence, Queen of England used to send notifications to the Viceroy here. Now, Jung Sahab is Viceroy & PMO is London. All orders come from the PMO,” Kejriwal said.

Continuing his attack on the Modi government, he went on to state that the notification proved that Modi with his 3 BJP MLA’s is trying to control the Delhi government through the backdoor.

“The BJP and Congress want to have their own officers in Delhi and get government contracts for their own people,” he alleged.

The Centre on Friday morning issued a notification which backed Jung and said that it was not mandatory for the Lieutenant Governor to consult the Chief Minister.

Kejriwal alleged that issuing the notification was very ‘unfair’ towards the people of Delhi, and said that the AAP government is doing very good work.

“We want to ask the Narendra Modi government, who are they trying to save through this notification?” he said

Kejriwal alleged that the government is rattled by the action taken by the Delhi government against corrupt officers and was attempting to protect corrupt officials by issuing the notification.

“They are saying that we can’t take any action against corrupt official in the central government,” he said.

Shifting his focus on Najeeb Jung, Kejriwal said, “The Lieutenant Governor has never asked about water or electricity, all they are interested in is transfer posting.”

He also added that it is because of the AAP government that a lot of money being paid for transfers has ended, a statement his deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had made earlier.

“Probably the AAP government is one of the cleanest governments Delhi has ever seen,” Kejriwal said.

(Agencies)

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