Najeeb Jung has quit as Delhi's Lieutenant Governor, with nearly 18 months of his tenure left. One of the few gubernatorial appointees of the UPA retained by the Modi government, Jung in a statement released by his office said that he will return to his first love, academics.
According to sources close to the LG's office, Jung had been thinking of quitting for some time now. “It was a personal decision and he wants to go back to academics,“ a media spokesperson in the LG's office said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed his surprise over the resignation. The LG's spokesperson said that the resignation had nothing to do with the acrimonious relationship the LG's office shared with Kejriwal.The LG's office and Kejriwal have been at loggerheads over authority and governance of the capital, with the CM alleging that Jung used his veto to strike down several Delhi government decisions on the Centre's instructions. It accused Jung of being hand-in-glove the Centre and deliberately transferring officers from Delhi to derail AAP projects. The latest tussle was over the appointment of Chief Secretary MM Kutty. Jung also set up a special committee to scrutinise 400 files that included orders passed by the Delhi government. While the AAP Cabinet deemed the committee illegal, it submitted the report to the LG's office in November. Jung received vindication when the Delhi High Court, last August, upheld the primacy of the Lt Governor in administering the NCT government. It ruled that the LG would be the administrative head and that the elected government could issue notifications only after consulting him. Kejriwal challenged the order in the Supreme Court, which during a recent hearing mentioned that the Delhi government should have some powers. The final hearing is scheduled for January 16.
Incidentally, the Delhi high court on Thursday ruled against the LG's decision to hold back salaries of contract staff members of the Delhi Commission for Women claiming that the appointments were illegal and ordered the government to release salaries held for two months.
According to sources close to the LG's office, Jung had been thinking of quitting for some time now. “It was a personal decision and he wants to go back to academics,“ a media spokesperson in the LG's office said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed his surprise over the resignation. The LG's spokesperson said that the resignation had nothing to do with the acrimonious relationship the LG's office shared with Kejriwal.The LG's office and Kejriwal have been at loggerheads over authority and governance of the capital, with the CM alleging that Jung used his veto to strike down several Delhi government decisions on the Centre's instructions. It accused Jung of being hand-in-glove the Centre and deliberately transferring officers from Delhi to derail AAP projects. The latest tussle was over the appointment of Chief Secretary MM Kutty. Jung also set up a special committee to scrutinise 400 files that included orders passed by the Delhi government. While the AAP Cabinet deemed the committee illegal, it submitted the report to the LG's office in November. Jung received vindication when the Delhi High Court, last August, upheld the primacy of the Lt Governor in administering the NCT government. It ruled that the LG would be the administrative head and that the elected government could issue notifications only after consulting him. Kejriwal challenged the order in the Supreme Court, which during a recent hearing mentioned that the Delhi government should have some powers. The final hearing is scheduled for January 16.
Incidentally, the Delhi high court on Thursday ruled against the LG's decision to hold back salaries of contract staff members of the Delhi Commission for Women claiming that the appointments were illegal and ordered the government to release salaries held for two months.
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