Car curbs every month ‘very difficult: Lieutenant-Governor

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has the room to “interpret” the Constitution unlike the lieutenant-governor who has to “protect” it and the AAP chief makes comments like “agent of BJP” against him for “political reasons”, Najeeb Jung said on Monday.

Mr Jung said enforcing the odd-even scheme for 15 days every month would be “very difficult” as it would put enormous strain on the Metro system and the policing apparatus which cannot be “sustained”.

On the issue of 21 AAP MLAs appointed as parliamentary secretary’s appointed by the government, Mr Jung said Mr Kejriwal had taken an “risk” and “it was for all to see”.

“By definition when we look at the statutes of Delhi, then the office of the parliamentary secretary is defined as an office of profit. Schedule 7 says that Delhi can have one parliamentary secretary and that’s an office of profit,” Mr Jung said.

He said that if the Centre does not approve the bill sent by the Delhi government to regularise the posts, the MLAs may be disqualified.

“That is true,” he said when asked if the MLAs may face disqualification.

Mr Jung, who took over as Delhi’s L-G in 2013, identified Article 239 of the Constitution, which makes the L-G the “repository” of government’s powers and the agent of the President, as the “heart of the problem”.

Asked during an interview about Mr Kejriwal describing him as a “dog”, Mr Jung said such language was unbecoming of a CM of Delhi and may be he was carried away for which he has never apologised. He said many of Mr Kejriwal’s comments, including describing him as the “agent of BJP”, may have “po-litical reasons” as “he (Mr Kejriwal) thinks he has a constituency out there which is attracted to these kind of statements but in all honesty we know the truth”.

Mr Jung said on personal terms, he and Mr Kejriwal go along well and that the CM cares for him. “I think he cares for me. He has dined with me, I have been to his house. I don’t think there is anything personal between us. Arvind is not a friend of mine but we get along absolutely well,” he said.

Asked how they will go along in the next four years, Mr Jung retorted: “Who knows who will be there for four years. Will I be there or will he be there. It’s que sera sera. Let’s see what happens.”

On the odd-even, which is set to return to Delhi on April 15, Mr Jung said that its first phase did not have any “impact” on pollution levels but it “certainly” impacted the flow of traffic.

“The jury is out on this one. We need to see how this meet with success over the period of time but I would give it a try... There was President’s Rule in Delhi for one year, I could have done the same but I did not have the courage to do so. I would give him time to succeed, if he fails, does not matter we can go back to the old scheme of things,” he said.

On the issue of appointing Shakuntala Gamlin as acting chief secretary, Mr Jung said the government had recommended appointment of a junior bureaucrat. “The deputy CM sent a note sheet signed by him and the CM giving a list of officers by way of seniority and that had Ms Gamlin as the senior most civil servant. At the bottom of the list in his hand the deputy CM had said the sixth name may be chosen.”