Delhi LG Anil Baijal resigns, says decision is for personal reason: Reports

Delhi lieutenant governor Anil Baijal has resigned after serving a term of more than 5 years, said media reports on Wednesday. Baijal cited ”personal issues" for his resignation.

The lieutenant governor administers the national capital, with the state government reporting to him. Delhi’s Aam Aadmi Party government frequently clashed with Baijal, accusing him of blocking its decisions at the behest of the BJP-led central government.

"He (Baijal) has submitted his resignation to the president," a government official told PTI.

Baijal, a retired civil servant, took over as Lieutenant Governor in December 2016 following the abrupt resignation of his predecessor Najeeb Jung.

Delhi is a union territory with special character, its government comprises both an elected state government and the central government through the Lieutenant Governor. Matters related to land, police, law and order and services come under the L-G.

The Parliament in 2021 amended a Bill that effectively made the Lieutenant Governor the overall head of the Delhi government, meaning all files would have to be passed through the official.

Baijal's resignation comes at a time when the terms of the three civic bodies are ending and the Centre has issued notification for their unification after elections.

A major face-off between the LG and the AAP government took place in June 2018 when Kejriwal along with his ministers --Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Gopal Rai-- held a dharna in the L-G office, alleging that IAS officers posted with the state government were not cooperating with elected representatives and non-approval of the doorstep delivery of ration Scheme by Baijal.

The tense relations between the LG and the AAP dispensation became less frequent after the Supreme Court ruling in July 2018 that the lieutenant governor of Delhi is bound by the "aid and advice" of the Delhi government, PTI reported.