Arvind Kejriwal Fires Verbal Salvo at LG Najeeb Jung

The rift between the Delhi State Government and the Lt Governor Najeeb Jung seems to be deepening with every passing moment. The current confrontation is over the appointment of an acting Chief Secretary in the state. CM Arvind Kejriwal has said that the LG should act with the limits of the Constitution and should not try to overtake the democratically elected government.    

Senior bureaucrat Shakuntala Gamlin took charge as acting Chief Secretary despite being asked by the AAPgovernment not to do so. An aggrieved Kejriwal wrote an angry letter to the LG asking him not to act outside of the confines of the Constitution; he accused him of trying to render the government ineffective. 

"I cannot but conclude that this is a thinly disguised attempt to reduce the democratically elected government ineffective and administer the National Capital Territory of Delhidirectly," Kejriwal said in his letter.

"I would strongly request you to remain within the confines of the Constitution and the laws relating to Government of NCT of Delhi. You are holding a Constitutional position. Whatever be the political pressure, you have a duty to uphold the Constitution," CM wrote in his letter.

The LG yesterday appointed Gamlin, a 1984-batch civil-services officer, as the acting Chief Secretary of the state despite strong opposition by the AAP government. The AAP is of the opinion that she has a close links with BSES discoms. However, she refuted the accusation by terming them baseless.

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The Supreme Court of India Stays Kejriwal's Anti-Media Circular

The Supreme Court of India has today put stay on a Delhi government circular that told the authorities to file a defamation cases against media organizations for any piece of news that causes damage to its reputation or that of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other ministers and asked him to explain why it was issued.

"Issue notice (to Kejriwal). However, as an interim measure we direct stay of the circular dated May 6, 2015 till further order of this court. Accordingly, it is stayed," said a bench comprising justices Dipak Misra and Prafulla C Pant.

The Supreme Court has also questioned Kejriwal's stand on the issue and has given him six weeks’ time to respond.

The said circular, issued by the state information and publicity department says that if any officer associated with the Delhi government thinks that a broadcasted or written news has caused damage to the government or its employee's  reputation, he or she should file a complaint with the principal home secretary.

It also states that after getting a nod from the director (prosecution), the issue will then go to the law department and after taking approval from the government, a case should befiled.

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DTC Calls Off Strike After AAP Government Imposes ESMA

The drivers of Delhi TransportCooperation (DTC) called off their state wide strike yesterday after the state government imposed the Essential Service Maintenance Act (ESMA).

The strike was called by the DTC drivers in protest of the murder of a fellow driver who was killed by a biker after his bus grazed the bike from behind in the Mundka area.

CM Arvind Kerjriwal met the deceased's family yesterday and promised a compensation of 10 lakh and a job to one of the family members.   

The end of a nearly two-days-long strike comes as a breath of fresh air to the 40-lakh people who were left in a limbo after the 4,705 DTC buses went off the roads.

"It has been notified that the Haryana Essential Services Maintenance Act (HESMA) 1974 is imposed in NCT (National Capital Territory) of Delhi which prohibits the strike of DTC employees in NCT of Delhi for a period of six months," a government statement said.

"We have called off our strike," Tara Chand, a member of the DTC Worker Unity Centre confirmed after the government notification came.

The DTC staff union decided to go on an indefinite strike following the murder of DTC driver Ashok Kumar Singh bya biker who repeatedly hit the 42-year-old with his helmet and a small fire extinguisher installed in the bus; Singh bled to death while being taken to hospital.  

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Electricity At Half The Rate And Free Water Plan Of Delhi Government Will Be Implemented From 1 March

Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodiya has said today that those who are consuming less than 400 units will be provided electricity at half the price by the Delhi government. 20000 litres of water will be given free per household. The announcements will be implimented from 1 March.

"We had promised to reduce power tariffs, the families using power till 400 units will get it on half the price. This will be effective from the 1st of March. Those families using more than 400 units will have to pay the entire bill," Sisodiya told the media.


Electricity at half the rate and cheap water to every household are two major points of AAP's 70-piont election manifesto.  

AAP convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had called a meeting of all the departments and ministers few days ago to draw a course of action for the welbeing and development of the capital city.

Kejriwal had earlier asked all the relevant departments to come up with a detailed roadmap on how they will fulfil AAP's plan to provide the city dwelers with cheap electricity and free water.

Kejriwal has also directed the CAG to conduct an audit of the private power distribution companies in the capital.

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AAP Invites PM And His Cabinet For Arvind Kejriwal's Oath Taking Ceremony

The AAP has invited PM Modi and his cabinet for the oath taking ceremony of Arvind Kejriwal as the 8th CM of New Delhi; the ceremony will be held on 14th of this month.

"We want to invite the prime minister, all union ministers and Delhi MPs," said Manish Sisodiya. 

PM Modi has given Arvind Kejriwal an appointment at 10:30 AM tomorrow. During the meeting, the CM designate will formally invite the PM to the ceremony, which will be held at the historical Ramlila Maidan. Mr Kejriwal took his oath of Chief Ministership at the same venue on the previous occasion as well.  

The chances of the PM going to the ceremony are not very bright as he has a packed schedule over the weekend; he is flying out to Maharashtra early on the Sunday morning.

"Our biggest invitation is to the people. Every citizen is becoming chief minister," Manish Sisodia said. Since getting a historic mandate yesterday, Kejriwal is urging the people of Delhi to come to his swearing-in ceremony. 

Kiran Bedi, the CM candidate of BJP, who lost even her own constituency is also among the invitees, and so in Anna Hazare. The anti-corruption crusader and Kejriwal's patron Hazare did not attend his previous oath ceremony in 2013.

It will, most definitely, be a tough task for the Delhi Police to oversee the occasion as the capacity of Ramlila Maidan is just one lakh and the attendance is expected to be much more than that.

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