Can Court Judgment Help Kejriwal Work for Delhi? No Way.
While Kejriwal and Delhi bureaucrats had their own interpretations of the Supreme Court judgment, the opposition parties such as BJP and Congress offered totally different versions.
By Rakesh Raman
More often than not, the judgments of Indian courts are so vague that they can be interpreted in thousand ways. While most judges are not quite familiar with the subtleties of English language, their long and winding pronouncements are often convoluted, ambiguous, and mostly wrong.
An example of such a loose document appeared Wednesday when the Supreme Court of India released its 535-page judgment in the Delhi Government case that aimed to define the responsibilities of the Lt. Governor (Anil Baijal) and the government headed by the chief minister (Arvind Kejriwal).
As soon as the court verdict came, Kejriwal and his cabal celebrated it with great fervor claiming that court has given them full powers to work without the interference of LG Baijal.
Kejriwal claimed that now he can tame the Delhi bureaucrats who have been at daggers drawn with him and enjoyed LG’s protection.
[ क्या केजरीवाल की दिल्ली के लिए पूर्ण राज्य की मांग उचित है? ]
But the bureaucrats refused to accept the court decision saying that it is not applicable to them, although Kejriwal’s group screamed it amounts to contempt of court.
While Kejriwal and Delhi bureaucrats had their own interpretations of the Supreme Court judgment, the opposition parties such as BJP and Congress offered totally different versions.
They claimed that there is nothing new in the judgment, which has in fact goaded Kejriwal government to work and show results. The less said about the Indian courts, the better.
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Despite court’s decision that Kejriwal celebrated as a historic victory, he is back to square one. Today, he has planned to meet Baijal again with a request to allow him to work independently.
But Baijal won’t budge because he wants to enjoy absolute powers without any responsibility. Last month, with a slew of demands Kejriwal and his ministers sat on a dharna in the LG office. But let alone accepting their demands, Baijal refused to meet them.
Baijal is also annoyed because Kejriwal uses abusive language against him. Recently, Kejriwal had said if Baijal worked against the interests of the people, they will “beat him with shoes and disfigure his face.” (Watch video)
Earlier, in a hard-hitting statement, Kejriwal had said that the LG appointed by BJP is working as a dictator in Delhi.
He also has blamed Baijal for a multi-crore-rupees ration scam in Delhi. Kejriwal’s AAP had said that Baijal is obstructing Delhi Government’s decision of delivering household items at consumers’ homes. It also said that the LG has stopped the use of e-POS machines in ration shops.
Another AAP leader Manish Sisodia has presented a white paper to hold the institution of the LG accountable to the people. Earlier, Sisodia also had alleged that LG Baijal is trying to protect the corrupt bureaucratic system in Delhi.
In the given circumstances, despite court intervention the standoff between Baijal and Kejriwal will continue. And that will be a blessing in disguise for Kejriwal because he will keep saying that LG Baijal is not allowing him to work. The truth, however, is that Kejriwal and his ministers are so naive that they do not know how to work.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.
