Let’s fight dengue before resuming quarrel: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to PM Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: The turf war between the Centre and AAP government resumed on Friday, with a memo from lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung asking officials to not follow the state administration's 'illegal orders.' This provoked a sharp response from chief minister Arvind Kejriwal who wrote to PM Narendra Modi in protest.

The first salvo was launched by LG Najeeb Jung through a late Thursday letter to government officials of the Delhi Administration. "The Government of India has inter alia conveyed to all the administrative officers of the All India Services, DANICS, HODs, DDOs and other concerned officers placed with government of NCT of Delhi that, "the orders declared illegal by the Government of India should not be complied with. Should any officer choose to do so, both disciplinary action for compliance of illegal orders and recovery of financial loss caused to the government as a result of such action would follow," the letter signed by Jung said.

The 'illegal orders' concerned rise in payscale of DANICS officers and constitution of a commission of inquiry to inquire into the CNG scam. Soon after the memo was leaked to the media, Kejriwal appealed through the social media to the Centre: "Can't we do this fight after two months? Let's fight dengue together," he said. The reason he appealed to the Centre was Jung's reference in the letter to the fact that these are "directions of the Government of India" and not his.