Jan Lokpal Bill: Why Kejriwal’s letter to L-G is a declaration of war

With his blistering letter to Lieutenant Governor reminding him of his "oath of loyalty to the Constitution and not to any party or the Home Ministry", Arvind Kejriwal has turned the ongoing legal debate over Delhi Jan Lokpal bill into an all out political war with the UPA.

Kejriwal claims his letter is in response to what he describes as "leaks to the media" of the Solicitor General's opinion sought by the L-G on the constitutionality of introducing a bill in the Delhi Assembly without the Centre's approval. The AAP government proposes do just that with the Jan Lokpal bill.

Arvind Kejriwal. AFP

The Solicitor General is believed to have informed the L-G that such a bill would be "unconstitutional." (The L-G is the Centre's representative in the state).

The letter can be read as an attempt by Kejriwal to redirect the debate over the Jan Lokpal bill back in AAP's favour and turn it into an Aam Admi Party versus corrupt parties scenario. The Delhi Chief Minister has practically accused the L-G of playing politics at the behest of the Centre, asking him how a legal opinion on the Jan Lokpal bill could have been sought even before the Cabinet had sent him copy of the bill.

"I fail to understand on which bill you have sought the Solicitor General's opinion... you could have consulted me and discussed the finer points of the bill with me. Instead, the Solicitor General"s opinions have appeared directly in the media," writes Kejriwal in his letter to the L-G.

Relying on the opinions of a former chief justice and three senior counsels to defend his government's stance, Kejriwal has, in turn, called the Centre's order (Transaction of Business of the government of NCT, 2002) requiring its prior permission before a bill is introduced in the Delhi Assembly as being "clearly unconstitutional in our view".

"Following the opinion of the legal experts, the Delhi Cabinet has passed a resolution on February 3 asking the Home Ministry to
withdraw its executive order...the Delhi government refuses to accept it," Kejriwal has told the L-G in his letter.

Kejriwal's counter-offensive should be viewed in the context of the Delhi Congress's strategy, which has been insisting that while it is for the Jan Lokpal Bill it will not support a bill that is "illegally" introduced in the Assembly.
(The Congress is providing outside support to AAP minority government.)

The face-off over the Jan Lokpal bill is best understood in terms of what each party is trying to achieve in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress party doesn't want to be rolling out the red carpet for the AAP government to turn the passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill into a massive public event ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Yet any opposition to the Jan Lokpal Bill is bound to be exploited by AAP to its political advantage. For a party that grew out of an anti-corruption movement, there couldn't be a more fitting issue over which to be brought down. And so while Congress may use the 'illegal' procedure argument for not supporting the bill, it knows that AAP would gladly play the martyr and use every opportunity to blame the Congress for bill not going through.

Kejriwal therefore uses his letter to launching a direct political attack against the UPA, writing to L-G, "I'm aware that you seem to be under immense pressure from the Congress and the Home Ministry...I'm also aware that pressure will be mounted on you not to allow the Jan Lokpal bill from being introduced in the Assembly because if the bill is passed many of them will be behind bars. I know that people will use your office for false and selective leaks to de-fame me and my government."

With his three-page letter to the L-G, Kejriwal has not only sought to dismiss the solicitor general's opinion but also accused the L-G, the Home Ministry and the Congress of political conspiracy to keep the Aam Admi Party from passing the Jan Lokpal bill.

With Kejriwal hankering to play the martyr over the Jan Lokpal bill, the UPA seems to be in the unenviable position where is damned if it gives in and is damned if it doesn't.