New Delhi:
In the middle of its blazing row with Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung over who really controls Delhi, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party appeared to take a step back today.
Here are 10 developments in the story:
On Wednesday, the confrontation between Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Lieutenant Governor escalated when Mr Jung rejected the appointment of Swati Maliwal, the wife of an AAP leader, as the chief of the Delhi Commission for Women.
Swati Maliwal said today that on the Lieutenant Governor's orders, she was asked to stay away from her new office. "My office has been locked, my nameplate removed and I have been asked not to sign on files," she told NDTV.
Just when the situation threatened to reach boiling point, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the file on Ms Maliwal's appointment has now been sent to the Lieutenant Governor. "One file signature was made an issue to remove her nameplates; she was not allowed inside but we don't want to make an issue," Mr Sisodia told reporters.
Sources in Najeeb Jung's office asserted that Ms Maliwal's appointment does not hold legal sanctity. However, they add, he would never make calls to anyone asking them not to come to work or remove their nameplates.
The subtle climb-down on both sides came after AAP's meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, in which it raised various issues including the recent dispute over the appointment of a chief of the Anti Corruption Branch (ACB). Mr Jung had nixed Mr Kejriwal's candidate for the post and appointed MK Meena, which was strongly opposed by AAP.
"We told the home minister we agree that the police is under you, but ACB is with us and cannot be treated as a police station," Mr Sisodia told reporters.
AAP also discussed with the home minister its allegation that a Delhi Police van tried to run over one of its leaders, Dilip Pandey, on Tuesday night.
The Kejriwal government has also targeted the Delhi Police over the brutal murder of a 19-year-old girl in west Delhi last week; she was stabbed multiple times, allegedly because she had protested against harassment.
Mr Kejriwal has made the murder the focal point of his argument that the Delhi Police should be under the control of the city government, not the Centre.
Since it took power in February, AAP has campaigned for the transfer of important departments that are not under the Delhi Government's control, including law and order, police and land.
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