DCW row: Sending appointment file to LG 'unnecessary', says Manish Sisodia

NEW DELHI: Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia contested Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung’s assertion that the LG’s clearance is necessary to appoint the chairperson of Delhi Women’s Commission.

Amid the ongoing power struggle between the Delhi government and the Centre, Sisodia on July 23 termed the LG’s clearance an “unnecessary” procedure in appointments to Delhi’s state administration.

"In Delhi, till now, the tradition has been to centralise system. This is not necessary. For my own ministry, I tell officers not to bring all files to me. I ask them to participate in planning and not spend time signing files. As per the Constitution, this (sending file of DCW chairperson’s appointment) is not necessary. We don’t have to send file to LG," Sisodia told the media at the Delhi Secretariat.

Sisodia was asked why Jung's clearance was not sought before, after he announced that in the "interest of women’s safety" the file was being sent to Jung for clearance. "Since it is necessary for the DCW to work for women’s safety, we are sending the file to LG (for him to sign it)," Sisodia said.

The deputy CM also strongly contested Jung’s letter to Delhi government in which he called the LG Secretariat as the "Government of Delhi". "See what the transaction of Business Rules passed by Parliament say about the definition of Delhi government and the LG Secretariat," he said.

Stepping back from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party leadership’s recent campaign of sorts to get the Centre to cede control of the Delhi Police to the state government, Sisodia said, "We agree that the Delhi Police belongs to the Centre. Let it look after women’s safety. But don’t try to control the anti-corruption branch. The Gujarat model of CBI, enforcement are being sought to be implemented in Delhi. We won’t let that happen," he said.