LG Jung issues clarification, directs CM Kejriwal's instructions be withdrawn

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Sunday directed that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's instructions to officials regarding the routing of files be withdrawn.

Kejriwal had earlier told officials not to route files through the Lieutenant Governor's office.

"The Lieutenant Governor has informed the Chief Minister, drawing his attention to the relevant provisions of the Constitution, the GNCTD Act 1991 and the Transaction of Business Rules 1993, which underscore the relationship between the Lt. Governor's and the Chief Minister's

office, that the role of the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers is to aid and advise the Lt. Governor where the latter is entitled to act solely on his own discretion and all files relating to matters for which Legislative Assembly can make Law should come to the Lt. Governor for final approval," a release from the Lieutenant Governor's Secretariat said.

"The Lt. Governor has instructed that the directions issued to the officers be withdrawn. He has made it incumbent on all officers to follow the Constitution, GNCTD Act 1991 and the Transaction of Business Rules 1993, in letter and in spirit," it added.

Earlier this week, media reports stated that Kejriwal, in a letter to all departments under the Delhi government, had instructed officers to "not bother the office of the Lieutenant Governor" to improve government efficiency.