Love for books to being in bad books

NEW DELHI: While Najeeb Jung gave the impression of an academically inclined administrator, he actually went through a very eventful political tenure as lieutenant governor. Handpicked by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, then in power at the Centre, in July 2013, the former civil servant and academic was inducted into Delhi's complex governance framework by the then CM Sheila Dikshit.

Soon after, Jung took centrestage as the citystate grappled with a hung assembly and a turbulent 49-day AAP government, followed by a year-long president's rule. The years since has seen the LG and the state government duelling over administrative powers.

Jung, 65 now, came with a stellar background in academics as an alumnus of Delhi University and London School of Economics. In 1973, he joined Indian Administrative Service and served in key positions in Madhya Pra desh and with the central government, including as joint secretary in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas.After resigning from IAS, he had stints in the Asian Development Bank and the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies at Oxford University.

Jung was the VC of Jamia Millia Islamia when the call for lieutenant-governorship came. Just months into his tenure, he had to contend with the acrimony arising from the hung assembly thrown up by the December 2013 polls. In the days after the support of the Congress put Arvind Kejriwal's minority government at the helm, Jung started to proactively exercise his role as administrator to ensure smooth relations between the Centre and state.

His penchant for playing the peacemaker was evident when CM Kejriwal sat on protest outside Rail Bhawan demanding the suspension of three police officers. In a goodwill gesture, Jung sent the CM hot paranthas and coaxed Kejriwal to come to the discussion table.

The one year of president's rule that followed the fall of Kejriwal's 49day government reconfigured the role of the LG as Delhi's administrator. Unlike his predecessors, Jung camped at the state secretariat reviewing the work of government departments, inspecting drains, visiting slums, ordering rehabilitation.

When the 2015 polls returned AAP to power with virtually a full house, Jung administered the oath of office to Kejriwal for the second time at Ramlila Maidan. All illusions of a popular government heading for a comfortable phase of governance with the cooperation of the Centre disappeared soon enough. With its overwhelming superiority in the assembly , the state government sought to free itself of central oversight and to reinterpret the role of the LG under the NCT Act.

In the battle of wits that ensued, the LG held his ground, insisting he was the constitutional authority of Delhi.But the squabble turned bitter, with the state blaming both the centre and the LG, as the centre's agent, with blocking development in the capital.The constitutional primacy of the LG was underlined by Delhi high court on August 4 this year. The battle may not have ended, but with the Supreme Court still to deliver its verdict, Jung, without conceding defeat, chose to step down and focus on his "first love" of academics.