Tussle between AAP govt, bureaucracy may linger on as SC refers services issue to larger bench

The tussle between the AAP government in the national capital and the bureaucracy may continue after the Supreme Court on Thursday referred the issue of who controlled services in Delhi to a larger bench.

An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) functionary said the apex court order meant maintaining status quo on the matter related to services, on which the lieutenant governor (LG) would continue to have a direct say.

On several occasions in the past, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP leaders had accused the LG of working at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre, which was allegedly creating hurdles in the Delhi government's works through officers.

A senior bureaucrat expressed apprehension that the tussle between the AAP government and the officers would continue in the coming days as the ruling party would have political pressure to execute their schemes.

The AAP dispensation and the bureaucrats have been at loggerheads on a range of issues.

In December 2015, the Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS) officers went on a mass leave against the suspension of two special home secretaries by AAP minister Satyendar Jain.

The IAS officers had also boycotted work for half-a-day in support of the DANICS officers.

Kejriwal had slammed former chief secretary M M Kutty when the latter allegedly refused to examine the recent metro fare hike.

In November 2017, the chief minister had written to the then chief secretary Kutty, asking him to initiate proceedings against the then PWD Secretary Ashwani Kumar for "dereliction of duty" over de-silting of drains in the national capital.