The Status of Delhi

Most of our readers will recall that when Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had won handsomely at the polls and Kejriwal was installed as the Chief Minister of Delhi, he had made one request to Prime Minister rendra Modi. He had told the Prime Minister that he had control over the entire country and that he should kindly leave the administration of Delhi to the AAP. There was a certain fallacy to such a request. If Prime Minister rendra Modi were to leave only Delhi alone, how would he claim any right to any kind of control over other States of the Union as Prime Minister of the country? And if he were to heed Arvind Kejriwal’s request to leave Delhi alone, who could find fault with any chief minister of any State claiming to have exclusive control of his State without the Prime Minister having anything to do with the States. Apparently that was precisely the kind of total control over Delhi for the AAP that Kejriwal had in mind. And Kejriwal has gone about doing things about the administration of Delhi to suggest that no one has a means of questioning the administration of Delhi since it is a State like any other. The Delhi High Court has filly shown Kejriwal his place. It has told the Chief Minister of Delhi very categorically that Delhi is a Union Territory, and that the Kejriwal government cannot act independently of the Lieutent-governor who is appointed by the Centre.  The Delhi High Court has struck down the constitution of several committees set up and nomitions of directors to different boards of directors that the Delhi government had ordered without the approval of the Lieutent-governor. Most people who had been led to believe that Delhi was a State like any other, now know that it is still a Union Territory and must learn to function as such.