Lawyers from the Aam Aadmi Party’s Delhi Legal Cell held a demonstration outside the LG House in protest against the continuous obstruction and non-compliance with the constitution by Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor on Wednesday. The lawyers also expressed their anger at the BJP and Delhi’s LG for obstructing the mayoral elections of the MCD. According to the lawyers belonging to the AAP Delhi Legal Cell, BJP’s representatives, including LG VK Saxena, are constantly causing trouble for the Delhi Government and blocking the welfare schemes being implemented by the state government. They said that their demand is that the LG, who holds a constitutional post, should work in accordance with the Constitution of India and not become a tool of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
LG has been blocking the welfare schemes of the Delhi Government
Advocate Sanjeev Nasiar, President of the Legal Cell of the Aam Aadmi Party, who participated in the demonstrations said, “The lawyers of Delhi have been silent and carrying out their duties for several years now, but the way the Lieutenant Governor in Delhi has been obstructing the works of the Delhi Government and causing them problems in the implementation of the welfare schemes, we have all decided to hit the streets in protest. Our only demand is that the LG, who holds a constitutional post, should follow the laws written in the Constitution of India, while carrying out his functions. We are against the LG acting like a party worker of the BJP and doing illegal acts to favour the Central Government. Despite the orders of the Supreme Court and the comments of the Chief Justice of India to conduct the elections for the post of Mayor in the MCD in a particular way, the BJP is hell bent on not following the orders and doing things as per their liking. The lawyer community will fight against such unconstitutional acts of the BJP in the courts of India.”
Lawyer community stands with the state government that works according to the Constitution
Lawyers participating in the protest have said that if the BJP and their representative LG VK Saxena continue to sideline the Constitution of India and run the government according to their whim, then all the lawyers in India will come together and sideline them as well. They further added that they stand with the government that runs according to the Constitution, and it is only the Delhi Government under the leadership of Shri Arvind Kejriwal that takes care of the interest of the lawyers. The lawyers demanded that the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi work according to the Constitution and follow the country’s legal system. They further added that since the LG has taken office, he has not been following any rules. The LG does not follow the Constitution, the MCDA Act, or the Delhi Business Transaction Rules. In a Supreme Court order in July 2018, it was said that except for land, police, and service, the decision of the Cabinet and Chief Minister will be final in all other issues. But despite this, the LG changes every decision of the Delhi government.
LG Office violating constitutional norms
The lawyer body said that it was upset with the LG’s handling of the mayoral elections of the MCD, and by his decision to allow the 10 nominated councillors to vote in the election. When mayoral candidate Dr. Shaili Oberoi raised this issue in the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court stated that LG and the pro-tem speaker were wrong. The Supreme Court stopped the nominated councillors from voting. This same situation was seen in the education sector. When Delhi Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal and Education Minister Shri Manish Sisodia decided to send government school teachers and principals to Finland for training, LG misused his power and halted the training of teachers. However, according to the Supreme Court, the Delhi government has the right to make independent decisions. The LG also stopped the tests that were being conducted that the Mohalla Clinics in Delhi, and suspended the salaries of the employees of the Delhi Jal Board for three months, which has caused disorder in the system. The LG also directly gives orders to the bureaucrats without keeping the concerned minister in the loop and with this act of his, he is violating constitutional norms.
Delhi Legal Cell demands the removal of LG
Lawyers from the Aam Aadmi Party’s Delhi Legal Cell have demanded the removal of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. They say that the current LG has disobeyed the mandate of the people of Delhi and therefore a new LG should be selected and that candidate should be willing to follow the norms laid out by the Constitution of India.
