File pic: The last time the Delhi assembly sat in February
The Supreme Court today said it expects the Centre to decide at the earliest on Arvind Kejriwal's call for fresh elections in Delhi, which has been under President's rule for five months.
"Should elected representatives sit at home without work?" a five-judge Constitution bench today asked the government.
Here is your 10-point cheat-sheet to the story:
The court today adjourned a petition by Mr Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that said the Delhi assembly should be dissolved and elections should be held again.
While adjourning the case for five weeks, the court said, "We are not looking at political party before us. We are looking at the Delhi citizen's point of view...he may say he has elected a representative and he is drawing salary from taxpayers' money and sitting idle."
Delhi has been under President's rule since February, when Mr Kejriwal quit as Delhi Chief Minister after failing to push his Jan Lokpal Bill. Later that month, AAP moved the Supreme Court.
"One party says it has no strength. Other says it has no desire. Third has no strength. In a situation like this why should people suffer?" the bench observed caustically.
The court also said, "Our opinion is why should it go with suspended animation and elected representatives sit at home without any work? And why should people suffer?"
The judges added that if the Centre made a statement "that the Lieutenant Governor will consider dissolving the house in two months, we will dispose the petition."
AAP, which came second in the Delhi election after winning 29 of 70 assembly constituencies, formed government with help from eight Congress members. The BJP, which won the most number of seats, had said it didn't have the numbers to rule.
Mr Kejriwal last month accused the BJP of trying to cobble a government by buying the support of rival party legislators. The BJP sued the AAP chief for defamation after being accused of buying MLAs for 20 crores.
The central government told the court today that it was "still making an endeavor to ensure that people's mandate doesn't go waste in six months." To which, the court responded, "What sort of endeavor you can make when both the parties are not interested to form government?"
The Delhi BJP indicated that it could make another attempt to form government. "The Centre will speak to the Lieutenant Governor and ask him to explore the option of forming the government within the court's five week deadline. If that is not possible, there should be polls," said Satish Upadhyay, who heads the party's Delhi unit.
Post a comment