Office of profit row: Kejriwal's overreaction proves his guilt
The best defence is a good offence - nothing can this adage describe better than the aggression shown by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the controversy arising out of the appointment of 21 parliamentary secretaries by him. Unfortunately, Kejriwal's "offensive" stand will not help him in either the court of law or with the Election Commission.
Kejriwal has committed two blunders officially and a third one politically.
His first blunder was to appoint 21 MLAs as parliamentary secretaries, throwing rules to the winds. The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Act states that there can be one parliamentary secretary attached to the chief minister.
However, Kejriwal went against the rules and appointed 21 AAP MLAs to the post in March 2015 and attached them to the office of several ministers. As office of the post of parliamentary secretary has been defined as office of profit, all these 21 AAP MLAs were seen as violating this provision.
The Delhi chief minister realised the enormity of his blunder after L-G Najeeb Jung pointed this out and said all the 21 MLAs stood the risk of getting disqualified.
Kejriwal committed the second blunder by introducing the Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Amendment Bill in June 2015 to appoint parliamentary secretary attached to office of ministers and exempt them from getting disqualified. The Delhi chief minister perhaps did not realise that laws, if after getting enacted, cannot be implemented with retrospective effect.
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| Instead of admitting his mistakes, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is obsessed with pointing fingers at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. |
The Bill, after being passed by the Delhi Assembly, was sent to President Pranab Mukherjee for approval. However, Kejriwal received a major jolt when the president refused to give assent to the Bill. Meanwhile, the matter is also sub judice in the Delhi High Court. It will also be heard by the Election Commission.
Kejriwal subsequently has committed a political blunder. Faced with the prospect of ignominy if these 21 of his party MLAs are disqualified, he took to his most favourite pastime - offence is the best defence policy. Despite committing blunders, he has refused to admit his mistake.
Instead of making amends, the Delhi CM has again started personally hitting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a series of tweets on June 13, he can only be seen as giving vent to his frustration and playing victimhood just to cater to his vote bank.
दिल्ली में हो रहे अच्छे कामों से मोदी जी घबरा रहे हैं।
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 13, 2016
एक MLA बेचारा रोज़ अपना पेट्रोल ख़र्च करके अस्पतालों के चक्कर लगाता था। बताओ क्या ग़लत करता था? मोदी जी ने उसको घर बिठा दिया।
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 13, 2016
एक MLA को बिजली पे लगा रखा था, एक को पानी पे, एक को अस्पतालों पे, एक को स्कूल पे। मोदी जी कहते हैं - ना काम करूँगा, ना करने दूँगा।
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 13, 2016
किसी MLA को एक पैसा नहीं दिया, कोई गाड़ी, बंगला- कुछ नहीं दिया। सब MLA फ़्री में काम कर रहे थे। मोदी जी कहते- सब घर बैठो, कोई काम नहीं करेगा
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 13, 2016
Compared to the "psychopath and coward" jibe at Modi when the Delhi CM's office was raided by the CBI, this time he has been milder. However, his personal obsession with Modi is not likely to cut ice even with his loyal supporters anymore.