New Delhi: Former deputy chief minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia on Wednesday said the governor’s post should be scrapped as the institution has become a “burden on democracy” and its role is only to “obstruct” the functioning of governments being run by non-NDA parties.
In an interaction with PTI editors at the agency’s headquarters here, Sisodia, who stepped out of Tihar jail on Friday after being granted bail in the excise policy case, said that bureaucrats in Delhi are suffering due to the tussle between the Lt Governor and the elected government and he “felt sorry” for them.
He lamented that public services and works were also being affected and people were facing hardships due to the “split” in governance at various levels.
The Lt Governor’s office and the AAP dispensation in Delhi have had run-ins on several governance issues.
“The tussle between the LG and the Delhi government is because of the murder of democracy. The rights of elected government were taken away by the Centre. When there is murder of democracy, all stakeholders are affected. Even the officers of the government are suffering and I feel sorry for them,” the senior AAP leader told PTI.
Sisodia claimed that bureaucrats are scared of working for the welfare of people since they think they will face action from the top.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader recalled that the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court had decided that the elected government has the power to make decisions but the Centre was not prepared for it.
“They brought legislation through Parliament to snatch the rights of the elected government. This is what I call a murder of democracy,” he explained.
Sisodia, who resigned as deputy chief minister of Delhi following his arrest in February last year, said that the governor’s post has become a “burden on democracy”.
“The post should be done away with. Why do we need a governor — to administer the oath to the elected government? That can also be done by other institutions. What is their job apart from toppling governments? What are they doing apart from this?
“Governor as an institution has become a burden in this country. They are not doing anything apart from obstructing the work of the elected government. Hopefully, a solution will be found to this problem,” he opined.
He felt that not only was the issue persisting in Delhi but had led to problems in other states too like West Bengal, Kerala, etc. To elucidate his point, he cited how governors of many states ruled by non-NDA parties had been “scolded” by courts for “meddling” in the affairs of elected governments.
“This trend is going on in the whole country and leading to dictatorship. Dictatorship is causing losses in Delhi and also in other states.
“Governors are being appointed only on the basis of their capabilities to obstruct the work of elected government,” he alleged.
The Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), ruled by AAP, have drawn flak following casualties this monsoon season due to waterlogging. Three IAS aspirants lost their lives last month after they were stuck in the flooded basement of a coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar.
“I was feeling so sad that how someone’s child could have lost their life that way,” he said, and accepted that it was “governance failure”.
“I cannot say that it is not our responsibility. It is the government’s responsibility. The governance is split at many levels — there is MCD, there is Delhi government and then there is Lt Governor.
“The officers are deployed by Lt Governor but the minister has to request them to get work done. People are suffering somewhere because of this situation. The more you weaken democracy, the more work will get slower,” he added.
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