Swati Maliwal--the new chief of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) appointed by the Arvind Kejriwal government--has taken to task the women's panel for "lying" that the lieutenant governor (LG) issued orders to lock her out of her office.
Maliwal said on Thursday that she was informed that LG Najeeb Jung had on Wednesday asked her not to come to office from Thursday. She had also claimed that her office was locked.
"The LG called my office and I was informed that I wasn't to sign any files or documents. The message was very clear that I shouldn't be in office tomorrow," Maliwal told the Hindustan Times.
The LG's office, however, denied issuing any such order to DCW or Maliwal, according to news reports.
This prompted Maliwal to question the DCW for "lying" to her, in a series of tweets.
"Why did DCW lie to me? Why did they remove my name plates, files and asked not to come to office," asked Maliwal.
LG office ne khandan kiya kal LG Office ne DCW m koi phone nai kiya. Shocking. DCW office ne hamse jhoot kyu bola ki LG se phone aaya hai?
— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) July 23, 2015
Kyu DCW office ne hamari name plates hatayi? Files le li aur office na aane ko kaha? — Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) July 23, 2015
The AAP government appointed Maliwal--wife of Aam Aadmi Party leader Navin Jaihind--as the new chief of the DCW last week. However, the appointment was rejected by the LG and conveyed by his office in a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
According to the letter, the LG's office declared the appointment of Maliwal as "null" as it "has no legal sanctity".
"In respect to the NCT (national capital territory) of Delhi the Government means the Lieutenant Governor of the NCT of Delhi appointed by the President under Article 239 and designated as such under Article 239 AA of the Constitution," HT reported quoting the letter.
"As the notification in question has been issued without the Lt. Governor's approval, the competent authority, in breach of rules and procedures, the notification has no legal sanctity and any action taken by the chairperson or any member of the Commission, including quasi-judicial decisions, would be ultra vires and infructuous," the letter says.
The BJP has also opposed the appointment of Maliwal and supported the LG's decision, besides accusing Kejriwal of nepotism and favouritism in government appointments.
"Jung's decision to annul appointment of Maliwal by Kejriwal as DCW chairperson is fully justified and keeping in letter and the spirit of the Constitution," PTI quoted BJP MLA Vijender Gupta as saying in a statement.
"Kejriwal is also bent on filling-up crucial posts in Government with his own near and dear ones. It has never happened in the history of Delhi Government that so many workers of ruling political party are appointed in such large number on key posts," Gupta said, adding, "Maliwal's appointment is just tip of the iceberg of a different kind of corruption and favoritism".
The AAP government and the LG have been engaged in a bitter turf war over appointment of senior bureaucrats in the National Capital Territory (NCT).
