A day after a Bharatiya Janata Party MP demanded his removal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal surprisingly came out in defence of Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, saying he was just following directives of the Prime Minister’s Office and that he is a good man with bad political bosses.
Notwithstanding his confrontation with the Lt Governor over a number of contentious issues, Kejriwal said Jung’s removal will not help as the “real solution” lies in the Prime Minister’s Office stopping “interference” in Delhi’s affairs.
“Congress and BJP both demanding Najeeb Jung’s removal? Strange. Is he at fault? No. He is doing what PMO is asking him to do.
“Removing him will not help. His successor would also do the same if PMO kept interfering. Real solution is PMO should stop interfering in Delhi,” the Delhi chief minister tweeted.
In another tweet, he said, “Najeeb Jung is a good man with bad political bosses.”
The chief minister’s comments in support of Jung came a day after BJP MP Udit Raj demanded his “removal” calling him a “super king” who does not heed to views of elected representatives.
Raj was apparently angry with Jung for arresting three of his supporters for allegedly assaulting North West Delhi District Magistrate Sanjay Goel in outer Delhi’s Kanjhawla area on Thursday. The MP accused police of acting under pressure from bureaucrats.
Though BJP has not demanded Jung’s removal, a section of the party’s Delhi unit was in favour of his ouster.
The Aam Aadmi Party government and the LG were locked in a fierce confrontation over number of issues, including control over the Anti-Corruption Branch and appointment of a commission of inquiry to probe the multi-crore CNG fitness scam.
Earlier this week, Kejriwal had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the “unprecedented” situation arising due to differences between his government and the Centre and said he was ready to go the “extra mile” to settle them for sake of the city’s development.
In a letter to Modi, Kejriwal had said Delhi’s development has been hit by the fissures between the two sides and that there should be no reason why the two “well-meaning” governments cannot resolve their differences.
