On completion of 100 days in power, Delhi's AAP government on Monday listed its achievements and outlined its policies for the capital, even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for running a "dictatorial" government.
Emboldened by the Delhi High Court's observation saying that the Lt. Governor cannot rule Delhi on legislative matters, Kejriwal said the BJP-led central government was trying to impose dictatorship in the city by issuing diktats.
"We are not fighting with the Centre, we want to work with them. But the BJP-led central government is imposing dictatorship in Delhi as they can not digest the absolute majority of the AAP in elections," Kejriwal said.
He was referring to his government's ongoing tussle with Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung and the Centre over the posting and transfer of bureaucrats.
The union home ministry in a recent order had said the Lt. Governor will have the final say in matters related to public, police, services and land.
Sitting with his cabinet ministers at the Central Park in Connaught Place, which was thronged by thousands of people, Kejriwal said Modi, instead of joining hands with the Delhi government on the statehood issue, had turned dictatorial.
"We told the prime minister that you have majority in parliament and we have it in the assembly (Delhi). And it is a golden opportunity to give Delhi statehood, but this is dictatorship," Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal congratulated Delhiites over the high court's verdict that the city government's Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) has the "jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute" Delhi Police officials.
"Earlier during our 49-day tenure, the ACB had started a probe against big people who were involved in corrupt practices. Once our tenure was over, the central government released an order limiting the powers of the ACB to probe Delhi government staff," Kejriwal said at a rally.
"In the order, the BJP limited the jurisdiction of the ACB saying it could conduct a probe only against officials of the Delhi government, whereas since its inception, it (ACB) had been given powers to probe any officer in Delhi -- whether he is of central government, Delhi government, MCD or of Delhi police -- if involved in corrupt practices," he said.
The union home ministry had issued an order in July last year limiting the powers of the ACB to only employees of the Delhi government.
The notification said the 1993 order of the lt. governor shall "apply to the officers and employees of the government of the national capital".
Last week, the union home ministry again issued a notification saying that the lt. governor will have the last word in posting and transfer of bureaucrats in Delhi and took away the power of the ACB, which is under the Delhi government, to prosecute "officers, employees and functionaries" of the central government.
