AAP government went on the rampage after May 11 order: Centre to Supreme Court | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: In a hard-hitting response to the Delhi government’s charge that the Centre had resorted to an “unconstitutional” services ordinance to deprive the Arvind Kejriwal government of the fruits of Supreme Court’s May 11 judgment, the Union government on Monday informed the apex court about what it called glaring instances of gross abuse of SC directions by the elected government acting “in utter disregard of constitutional/political morality”.
Eight days after a 5-judge bench gave executive and legislative control over ‘services’ relating to transfer and postings of bureaucrats to the Delhi government, the Centre on May 19 issued the ordinance taking away services from the state list under Entry 41 to trigger a fresh war of words between the two. CM Kejriwal had embarked on a nation-wide tour to garner support against the ordinance in Rajya Sabha.
In its affidavit, the Centre listed as many as nine instances of “misdemeanour” by the Kejriwal government as well as its “high-handedness” in posting transfer orders on social media even after the LG had assured the CM that the May 11 SC judgment was sacrosanct for him.It said after the May 11 judgment, Kejriwal and other ministers “immediately went on a rampage by issuing orders and posting them on social media in gross disregard of rules and procedures”.

The Centre said a committee constituted by the SC had “observed that the Delhi government incurred an expenditure of approximately Rs 980 crore which was in reality for the propaganda of a political party in power and therefore, the said political party (AAP) was asked to deposit the amount with the state exchequer. However, till date the same has not been deposited”.
It said the Delhi government had spent over Rs 8 crore on advertisements claiming to organise a shopping festival in the capital, but the event never took place. “The advertisements were intended to garner political mileage and the failure to organise the event was an act of financial mismanagement and impropriety,” it said.

The Centre said after the May 11 judgment, the vigilance department was specifically targeted in a hurried manner because the department “contained certain files about which either investigations were going on or contemplated”. The files related to excise scam; new residential bungalow of the CM; advertisements given by the government for a political party; creation of feedback unit which was beyond the Delhi government’s jurisdiction as it was gathering intelligence in Delhi that housed SC, HC and several embassies; and extending power subsidies despite Rs 21,000 crore outstanding dues to power distribution companies.
It referred to the transfer of 90 IAS officers by the Delhi government in 2015 without any recommendation from the civil services board. The Centre said the CAG report highlighting irregularities in the work of Delhi government “are not being tabled in the assembly for a long period with a view to avoid any legislative or public debate on the expenditures incurred by the government”.
Other instances, cited by the Centre, are continuance of assembly sessions throughout the year without prorogation by the LG; cabinet meetings not being held and decisions taken through circulation (of notes); files being submitted to LG without authentication by the CM; projects of national importance – RRTS, AIIMS, Delhi Metro, UER, IIT Delhi – being deliberately obstructed by the CM for years due to non-issuance of NOC/clearances and without releasing sufficient funds; and disregard of administrative practices.