New Delhi: Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena Saturday ordered the immediate removal of several individuals who had been appointed by Delhi’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government as board members of privately owned power distribution companies, or discoms.
Citing anonymous sources from the Lieutenant Governor’s office, several media houses reported that these individuals, which include AAP spokesperson Jasmine Shah, Umesh Tyagi, J.S. Deswal and Rajya Sabha MP N.D. Gupta’s son Naveen Gupta, had allegedly been “illegally” nominated by the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government to the boards of discoms like BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL), BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited.
L-G Saxena had reportedly labelled the appointments “illegal” in January this year and stated that due process of law was not followed, in light of an inquiry report filed by Delhi’s power department and Chief Secretary after a complaint in September 2022.
“Once appointed, these government nominees facilitated a decision of the DISCOM Boards of unilaterally lowering interest rates charged on Late Payment Surcharge (LPSC) that these DISCOMS owed from 15-18% to 12%, thereby causing a loss of Rs 8,683.67 crore,” the report said, quoting anonymous sources from the L-G’s office.
According to the L-G, this loss reportedly amounted to “proven misconduct and maleficence” on the part of the Delhi government nominees, with Saxena invoking “difference of opinion” under Article 239A of the Indian Constitution after the Delhi government “persisted upon their continuance” as government nominees.
AAP has since condemned Saxena, terming the removal of the nominees as “unconstitutional” and “illegal”, making a mockery of Supreme Court orders. In a press statement Saturday, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia detailed that the Lieutenant Governor’s “difference of opinion” rationale lies on shaky ground as he did not follow the proper procedures.
“It is written in the laws that the duties of the Lieutenant Governor involve discussion with the [chief] minister first and then with the Cabinet. The Kejriwal government’s decision cannot be reversed after four years,” AAP tweeted, sharing a clip of Sisodia’s press statement on the matter.
LG अफसरों से File मंगाते हैं, कहते हैं मेरा ‘Difference of Opinion’ है, अब जो मैं कह रहा हूं वो लागू करो।
ये गैरकानूनी है।
कानून में लिखा है: LG की Duty है-
▪️पहले मंत्री से चर्चा करेंगे
▪️फिर Cabinet में चर्चा होगी
4 साल बाद Kejriwal सरकार का फैसला नहीं पलट सकते।
–@msisodia pic.twitter.com/HHy2c65IsE
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) February 11, 2023
This ongoing power department appointments’ issue is just one from a long list of tussles between the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government and the national capital’s Lieutenant Governor since AAP’s rise to political power in the past decade.
Initial conflicts arose in 2015 during Najeeb Jung’s tenure as the then Lieutenant Governor, with Jung blocking five Bihar Police officers from joining Delhi’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), and appointing then-joint commissioner of Delhi Police M.K. Meena as the ACB’s head.
The most protracted period of engagement between the Delhi government and the L-G came after Anil Baijal replaced Jung in late 2016, but clashes continued over issues like the Delhi riots, probing oxygen-shortage deaths during the Covid-19 second wave and the excise duty policy. Saxena replaced Baijal following the latter’s resignation in May 2022.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
Also read: Arrested YSRCP MP’s son a part of ‘South group’ that paid ‘Rs 100 cr’ to AAP, influenced policy: ED