New Delhi: Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung Monday approved appointment of Swati Maliwal as the new chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW).
With this, a week-long tussle that threatened to render DCW headless and ineffective ended on an amicable note.
Maliwal was named new DCW chief by the provincial Delhi government, violating the norms of seeking the Lt Governor’s approval.
Maliwal, a close associate of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, had formally taken over as the DCW chief on July 20. However, her appointment was termed by the Lt Governor’s office as illegal and it was subsequently terminated on Thursday, leading to Kejriwal accusing Jung of creating hurdles in the functioning of his government and acting at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Just as the PM has made the ACB [anti-corruption bureau] ineffective, the Lieutenant Governor is now making the DCW ineffective on PM’s direction,” Kejriwal alleged in a letter he wrote to Jung on Friday, after Maliwal’s nameplate was removed from the DCW office and all files taken away from her office the previous day with clear instructions not to come to office by the Lieutenant Governor’s secretariat.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had creating a file regarding Maliwal’s appointment and sent it to the Lt Governor’s office for necessary sanction last weekend.
Jung on his part tried to belittle the democratically elected provincial government by declaring that he was the Government of Delhi, while cancelling Maliwal’s appointment. His letter to the provincial government categorically stated that “constitutionally valid and consistent definition of ‘Government’ is the Lt Governor.
Kejriwal and Jung have locked horns over appointments and transfers on four occasions since the Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government came to power in February with a massive mandate after winning all but three seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly.
With Delhi enjoying the status of limited statehood as it continues to be a Union Territory, constitutionally all powers regarding appointments and transfers vest with the Lt Governor, which is unacceptable to Kejriwal.
The Delhi government’s plea in this regard is pending before the Delhi High Court, which is expected to take it up next month.
Maliwal, 30, is adviser of Kejriwal and wife of senior Aam Aadmi Party (APP) leader Navin Jaihind. She was named as replacement of former Delhi Congress party lawmaker Barkha Singh after she completed her five-year tenure.
