New Delhi: The relationship between the Delhi government and Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung ruptured a little more today. Ashutosh, a senior leader of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party or AAP, tweeted that “Lg Jung had worked with Ambani’s in London,in India, was part of his think tank. Why these facts are not posted on LG’s official website!”
The Delhi government has this week filed a criminal case against Ambani for allegedly colluding with policy-makers to inflate the prices of gas produced at the D6 block off the Eastern coast which is operated by the billionaire’s Reliance Industries.
The conflict between AAP and the Lieutenant Governor, who is the constitutional head of Delhi, has become the new normal for the capital’s political landscape. AAP has accused Mr Jung of working on behalf of the Congress party to derail the anti-graft Jan Lokpal Bill that has been the top item on Mr Kejriwal’s to-do list.
Legal experts consulted by Mr Jung have said that bill cannot be reviewed by Delhi law-makers without the clearance of the Centre, partly because the ombudsman or “Lokpal” it creates will receive financial assistance from the Union government.
The commissioning of a Lokpal, empowered to investigate corrupt government officers, was championed by Mr Kejriwal and his one-time mentor Anna Hazare in 2011. Mr Kejriwal’s decision to launch a political party strained their relationship, but in December last year, Parliament passed a law that sets up the Lokpal.
Kejriwal has rejected what he has described as Lokpal-lite, denouncing it as a law so weak that “it cannot even imprison a mouse. His proposal for Delhi, he says, offers a far more effective antidote to graft among elected representatives and bureaucrats.
Bureau Report
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