New Delhi: The AAP government has made an offer to Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung that aims to tone down hostilities over who calls the shots Delhi. The “interim arrangement” proposes that the government will send its decisions, including appointment of bureaucrats, to the L-G; he can then express his disagreement. If neither side backs down, the President of India can take the final call.
 
The offer was made on Friday in the Delhi High Court, which has asked Mr Jung to evaluate the proposal. The High Court, however, refused to stay the Union home ministry’s May 21 notification and directed the L-G  to “deliberate” on the Delhi government’s proposals on the appointment of senior bureaucrats to key posts.
 
The Supreme Court also issued a notice to the AAP government seeking its response on the Centre’s appeal against the Delhi High Court order describing as “suspect” the MHA notification on transfer of officials. Amid the bitter feud between the Centre and the Delhi government over the L-G’s powers, Union home minister Rajnath Singh made it clear his ministry will “uphold the constitutional provisions”, and if the Arvind Kejriwal government takes to the streets, adversely affecting law and order, the MHA was ready to deal with the situation.
 
Mr Singh, addressing a press conference, stressed that the Centre had “no intention of running the Delhi government through anyone”, but also made it clear that the L-G had the Centre’s backing. “We are not against anyone, but it is our responsibility to uphold the constitutional provisions. Everyone should remain within the framework of the Constitution,” he said.
 
In the Supreme Court, meanwhile, a vacation bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and U.U. Lalit, hearing the appeal, told the Centre’s counsel that the observations of a single judge of the high court were only tentative and that the court had not quashed or stayed the notification.