Delhi govt gets cracking as city breathes uneasy

New Delhi: The year saw less of rabble-rousing between the AAP government and the lieutenant  governor’s office as compared to the past, but the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation had to grapple with issues such as pollution, unfulfilled poll promises and corruption charges.

Tackling rising air pollution was one of major challenges for the AAP government. It is yet to procure sufficient number of mechanical sweeping machines to reduce dust pollution. On several occasions in 2017, the National Green Tribunal slammed the government over the issue of air pollution.

Since Anil Baijal took charge at the Raj Niwas on December 31 last year, he has given his nod to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s several key decisions such as the new minimum wages and education loan scheme.

Mr Baijal’s predecessor Najeeb Jung and the Aam Aadmi Party government had been at frequent loggerheads on a range of issues including administrative control over the bureaucracy.

However, the L-G’s office and Mr Kejriwal sparred on some occasions as the latter in October had said he was an “elected chief minister, not terrorist” over the delay by Mr Baijal in approving the government’s decision to regularise around 17,000 guest teachers.

The 2017 also saw the ruling AAP change its strategy of directly attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi after multiple poll reverses and instead focused its charge on the BJP as a whole.

Ever since the government was formed in February 2015, Mr Kejriwal had adopted a strategy to hit out at the PM on several fronts.

However, after the rout in the assembly elections in Punjab, Goa and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls, the party changed its stance.

There was also a political firestorm in the national capital when Mr Kejriwal had in the month of May sacked the then water minister Kapil Mishra over alleged “poor water management”.

After being ousted from the cabinet, Mr Mishra launched a series of attacks against Mr Kejriwal, alleging that he had seen him taking `2 crore in cash from Satyendar Jain.