Delhi braces itself for new battle

New Delhi: And the battle rages on. After a tumultuous stint with Najeeb Jung, the AAP is all set to face Anil Bijal as lieutenant governor of Delhi. If Najeeb Jung had a streak of green in him, Mr Baijal is all saffron, at least that’s what the AAP functionaries believe. If Mr Jung made things difficult for AAP, Baijal could raise the heat. The first indication that the ruling BJP was “happy” over Mr Baijal’s appointment came when the minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj tweeted that she was “happy at Baijal’s appointment as L-G of Delhi”. So, before the dust could settle in on the raging war between AAP and Mr Jung, Mr Baijal moved in. As one waits to witness the storm ahead, 2016 saw the end of Mr Jung’s reign in the national capital.

Mr Jung resigned as Delhi’s L-G on December 22. Mr Jung’s sudden move to hang his boots 18 months before his tenure was supposed to end, gave rise to intense speculations in the political circles, even though he ascribed the resignation to the pressing need to spend more time with his family and return to his first love – academics. Many observers have pointed that Mr Jung’s resignation is symbolic of deciding to end the vociferous power tussle with the AAP government, which the two were embroiled in frequently, rather than continue with the bitter battle which frequently derailed the governance in Delhi.

His acrimonious relationship with the AAP government and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal were constantly fanned by the Union government, with the AAP supremo launching fervent attacks that the L-G was functioning at the behest of the Centre to collapse the city’s governance.

Interestingly, Mr Jung, who was considered close to the erstwhile Congress government, could survive the change of power in 2014 and was allowed to continue as the Delhi’s L-G. A 1973-batch IAS officer, Mr Jung assumed charge as Delhi’s L-G in 2013 and ran the city single-handedly for nearly one year after the AAP government quit in February, 2014. However, if the speculations are to be believed, his relationship with the BJP-led Centre had soured of late and it was looking for a reason to remove him.

The L-G has had to reverse several decisions taken by the Delhi government, saying he had not been consulted in the matters of governance, which require his nod, Delhi being a quasi-state. The AAP has maintained that Delhi’s elected government should have a greater say in governance matters. It moved the Delhi high court, which said in August that the L-G was the city’s administrative boss. The Supreme Court, which is hearing the case now, said about a week ago that the Delhi government should have some powers to be able to function. The court listed the matter for final disposal on January 18. This gives steam to another theory that with the Supreme Court verdict on the relative powers between the L-G and the Delhi CM soon, Mr Jung was apprehensive that his powers may be clipped.