Kejriwal govt braces for legal battle with New Delhi

NEW DELHI: The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi is preparing itself for a long legal and political battle amid the ongoing turf war with the federal government.
While the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court will on Friday hear two separate petitions filed by the federal government and the provincial Delhi government respectively, AAP is seeking support of non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state governments in its fight.
AAP has approached the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav to make a common platform and mount pressure on the Narendra Modi government to give the Kejriwal government free hand to run affairs in Delhi.
It is also in touch with the Congress party, whose top central leadership have been extremely critical of the Modi government, so that it can take up the fight to the parliament during the upcoming Monsoon session.
Kejriwal prepared the political ground for this on Wednesday during his address to the Delhi assembly.
“Whatever is happening in Delhi is dangerous. This is the Delhi experiment of the BJP-led Centre. One by one, this experiment would be implemented in every non-BJP state.
They want to take the country towards dictatorship. I appeal to all non-BJP chief ministers to come together and unite on this issue,” Kejriwal said during the course of his fiery address.
So far, only Mamata Banerjee had given Kejriwal hopes of support in his fight against the Modi government.
“Too much interference in the federal structure is unacceptable. The state government is an elected body,” Banerjee tweeted a few days ago. Kejriwal promptly re-tweeted Banerjee’s message.
There are suggestions that the two chief ministers have talked to each other over phone.
The Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had in March met Kejriwal. While apparently it was meant to personally congratulate Kejriwal over AAP’s spectacular victory in February Delhi assembly polls, political observers felt that Kumar may need Kejriwal’s support to him during the September-October assembly polls in Bihar.
Bihar polls are to be followed by assembly elections in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh and all three state governments are expected to face tough challenge form the BJP.
Since AAP is unlikely to contest Bihar polls, Kumar wants AAP sympathisers and workers in the state to vote for him. A quid pro quo arrangement thus is very much on cards between Kumar and Kejriwal.
On the legal front, Kejriwal government is already buoyant after the Delhi High Court’s favourable observation on Friday.
Kejriwal government has challenged the federal home ministry’s last week notification which was intended at curtailing powers of the provincial Delhi government.
The federal home ministry decided to issue a formal notification after Kejriwal and Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung locked horns over appointments and transfers of senior bureaucrats.
Delhi, as a Union Territory, enjoys limited statehood and the Lt Governor plays a key role in functioning of the provincial government as representative of the federal government which controls law and order as well as land in the national capital.
The High Court had termed the home ministry notification as “suspect” on Friday. Kejriwal government now wants full powers from the court in appointment of bureaucrats.
The federal government, reacting quickly to the High Court ruling, knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court with the plea to overturn the suspect tag.
The Delhi assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution terming the federal home ministry’s notification and illegal and invalid.