AAP government likely to pass resolution against Centre's order backing L-G

New Delhi: The Delhi Assembly is likely to pass the resolution against the notification issued by Home Ministry, which called the Lieutenant Governor's powers absolute in the two-day special session on Wednesday. The national capital is witnessing a power tussle between the Aam Aadmi Party government and Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung over appointments, transfers and postings of bureaucrats.

On Tuesday, AAP called the notification unconstitutional and invalid. Party MLA Somnath Bharti said the notification is encroaching on the rights of the House.

"The whole issue pertains to a Constitutional crisis. I requested the House to consider notification as null and void. I requested for Presidential reference to Supreme Court. The issues are coming in the way of good governance in Delhi," said Bharti.

The Delhi Assembly also witnessed uproar and BJP MLA Om Prakash Sharma was thrown out of Delhi Assembly after he and two others MLAs protested against Speaker Ram Niwas Goel's criticism of Lt Governor and an alleged statement by Aam Aadmi Party MLA Alka Lamba.

The Speaker called in marshals to throw out Sharma who slammed the Speaker and alleged that he was not impartial. Sharma had also alleged that Alka Lamba had accused Jung of bribing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a charge which the AAP MLA strongly denied.

The face-off between the Delhi government and Lt Governor Najeeb Jung intensified over the appointment of Shakuntala Gamlin as acting Chief Secretary. AAP MLA Adarsh Shashtri on Tuesday sought an amendment to Article 155 of Constitution so that Delhi Assembly can impeach the Lt Governor.

However, the Delhi government said that there will be no resolution to this effect and it is just the view of one MLA. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has convened a two-day special session of the Delhi Assembly and adopted a motion to discuss the notification issued by the Home Ministry which gave supremacy to the Lt Governor over the state government.

After the notification was issued by the Centre, Kejriwal had reacted strongly to the notification, saying that the NDA Government at the Centre was trying to run the national capital through the 'backdoor'. On the other hand, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had also criticised the notification, terming it as an attempt to "save the transfer-posting industry being run in Delhi".