Congress: AAP govt Supreme Court move waste of public money

Reacting to the Delhi high court ruling on Thursday upholding the administrative powers of the lieutenant-governor (L-G), Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Ajay Maken said that chief minister Arvind Kejriwal cannot expect to get special treatment which his predecessors like Shiela Dikshit, Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma and Sushma Swaraj did not enjoy.

The Delhi Congress president said that the high court has only put a stop to Mr Kejriwal’s demand for special treatment.

When asked that the Delhi government will appeal the ruling of the high court in the SC, Mr Maken said it would be a waste of public money as the AAP government would be paying hefty fees from the government coffers for fighting the case in the Supreme Court.

Pointing the high court ruling, Mr Maken pointed that the court emphasised on the administrative capacity of the L-G, while holding that Delhi should be seen as a Union Territory under Article 239 AA of the Constitution and Transaction of Business Rules. “Being a Union Territory, Delhi is under the Central rule, and enjoys certain perks and privileges, and it was up to the people to decide whether we still want to remain the national capital. Delhi will lose the perks and privileges when it becomes a full-fledged state, like other states,” Mr Maken added.

Referring to full statehood demand of the AAP government, Mr Maken said that statehood of Delhi cannot be decided only by the people of the city, as it can be done only through a constitutional amendment, for which the people of the entire county have to decide.

“For the past 18 months, Mr Kejriwal has been fighting with the L-G, Central government, corporations, Haryana and others on one pretext or another, holding up all development works. Mr Kejriwal has always looked for excuses for not doing any work,” the DPCC president said.