Home ministry axes Delhi official's transfer

The home ministry on Thursday rejected the Delhi government's order transferring Home Secretary Dharam Pal, but Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal maintained that the transfer was valid.

The AAP government transferred Dharam Pal for signing a notification that appointed Delhi Police Joint Commissioner M.K. Meena as the chief of the government's Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), official sources said.

The home ministry said the Aam Aadmi Party government, which does not control Delhi Police, did not have the jurisdiction to remove Dharam Pal from the post.

But Kejriwal has told the home ministry that the transfer of officials was in the domain of the Delhi government.

The sources told IANS that Kejriwal, in a communication to the ministry, had cited constitutional rules to back his claim.

Meena was appointed the new ACB chief by Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung superseding Kejriwal's handpicked department chief, S.S. Yadav.

The Delhi government has since given the post of home secretary to senior bureaucrat Rajendra Kumar.

The conflict over who controls the bureaucracy in Delhi has been a major source of confrontation between the AAP government and the Lt. governor.

The AAP government has told Meena to return to Delhi Police but he has refused to do so.