Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia attack Centre over JCA new rules

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia on Sunday targeted the Centre over the recent changes in the Joint Cadre Authority ( JCA) and asked why the Modi government was "scared" of AAP's presence.

Sisodia claimed that the new rules on JCA, notified by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), was aimed at stopping him from attending any meeting of the panel, while Kejriwal repeated his charge that Modi is creating "hurdles" for the Delhi government.

"Modi ji trying everything possible to create hurdles in Delhi government. And then they say that we fight. Modi puts obstacles in the functioning of the Delhi government every morning," the CM tweeted.

The Centre had notified new rules to exclude ministers from a panel that decides on transfers of IAS and IPS officers in the joint cadre of some states, which was being seen as an attempt to keep out Aam Aadmi Party's ministers from it.

"Modi govt changed 44-year-old rule only to stop me from attending JCA meeting? Why are they so scared of our presence?" Sisodia asked.

However, following the changes, senior government officials had maintained that the rules do not apply to joint cadre of union territories (AGMUT) which include Delhi.

"The new changes apply only to Assam-Meghalaya cadre where two governments are involved," a senior DoPT official had said.