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Arvind Kejriwal Lashes Out Against Modi, Alleges BJP Trying To Run Delhi Government Through L-G

Modi Government Trying To Protect Vested Interests By Meddling In Transfer Postings, Alleges Delhi CM
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sits flanked by Aam Aadmi Party or Common manâs party leaders Manish Sisodia, left and Kumar Vishwas at a farmerâs rally near the Indian parliament in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, April 22, 2015. Indian farmers and the opposition parties are protesting against a government plan to ease rules for obtaining land for industry and development projects. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)
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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sits flanked by Aam Aadmi Party or Common manâs party leaders Manish Sisodia, left and Kumar Vishwas at a farmerâs rally near the Indian parliament in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, April 22, 2015. Indian farmers and the opposition parties are protesting against a government plan to ease rules for obtaining land for industry and development projects. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

NEW DELHI -- Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday lashed out against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party, alleging that the PM was trying to run the Delhi government "through the backdoor."

"Who is the central government trying to protect with this notification?," asked Kejriwal at a press conference on Friday afternoon, shortly after the Ministry of Home Affairs said that the Lieutenant Governor has "primacy" in all the postings and transfer of officers who belong to Central services.

Interestingly, the MHA notification says that the state government's anti-corruption branch will not take cognizance of any offences against officers, employees, and functionaries of the central government. The entire row between the LG and CM had started with senior bureaucrat Shakuntala Gamlin's appointment by the LG as acting chief secretary despite Delhi government's strong reservations against her. In fact, Power Minister Satyendra Jain had placed on record his "suspicion" of Gamlin for "aggressively lobbying within the government to promote the interests of Reliance-owned Power Companies. Many such instances have come to light.” Gamlin has vociferously contested the charge.

Kejriwal had earlier tweeted out that the MHA notification showed "BJP's nervousness" about Aam Aadmi Party's anti-corruption efforts. "BJP first lost Delhi elections," he said, "BJP again lost today."

On Friday, Kejriwal said that Modi was "trying to run the Delhi government with his three BJP MLAs" who had won seats in the Delhi assembly earlier this year, as against the 57 AAP MLAs.

Kejriwal alleged that LG Najeeb Jung was being used by the central government to further their own interests, as Jung had earlier never indicated any interest in the workings of the state government.

"LG Najeeb Jung is just the face," said Kejriwal on Friday. "The orders are coming from above," claiming Jung has never earlier inquired about departments dealing with water or electricity and was only interested in transfer posting.

The CM also hit out at the Congress, claiming both the opposition parties wanted to have "their own officers in Delhi" in a bid to get government contracts for people they favoured.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.