THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, DELHI

Another protest in the sequence of ‘DHARNA WITHOUT REASON’

1. Hon’ble Chief Minister had sought a meeting with the Hon’ble Lt. Governor today. He came with Hon’ble Dy. CM, Sh. Satyendar Jain, Minister (UD) and Sh. Gopal Rai, Minister (Labour). In the meeting, Hon’ble LG was threatened by Hon’ble CM who demanded that the officers should be immediately summoned at Raj Niwas and directions should be given to end the so-called ‘Strike’. In response, it was reiterated by Hon’ble LG that there is no strike by employees of GNCTD and in his continued interactions with officers, it has been informed that the atmosphere of mistrust and fear continues and no sincere attempts to resolve the differences have been made so far. Hon’ble LG continued to advise Hon’ble Chief Minister to build the confidence of the employees at all levels and to work out ways of addressing their genuine concerns.
2. Attention of Hon’ble CM was also drawn to the fact that the file on doorstep delivery of rations is still lying with the Minister Civil Supplies for nearly three months. Hence, it will only be appropriate to expedite the matter of taking up the proposal with the Govt. of India at the earliest as pointed out by the Law Department, GNCTD that such a scheme requires prior approval of Central Govt. under National Food Security Act, 2013.
3. In this regard, it may be noted that it is already in public domain that since the alleged assault on Chief Secretary, the Hon’ble Chief Minister individually and along with his Cabinet colleagues, has met the Hon’ble Lt. Governor a few times, seeking his help to resolve the problem. Hon’ble Lt. Governor has repeatedly advised the Hon’ble Chief Minister and his colleagues to reach out to the Govt. employees and address their concerns. It is unfortunate that despite such advice, at least in the perception of Govt. employees, no significant attempts have been made to restore their trust.
4. It is a matter of record that the Budget Session 2018 of GNCTD was held and budget passed with active cooperation of the officers concerned. Hon’ble LG is also given to understand that all statutory meetings in GNCTD are being held and Cabinet meetings are taking place. Officers are also attending the meetings of urgent public importance. The Secretariat is working as also the field officers and organizations.
5. Unfortunately, the impression that Hon’ble LG still gets from his interaction with the officers is that no sincere efforts have been made to assure the officers that their respect and dignity will be protected and they will not be intimidated, physically or verbally assaulted and threatened. Even today, three senior officers have approached the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi seeking relief against coercive action by Legislative Assembly for following instructions of the Govt. of India on matters related to ‘Reserved Subjects’.
6. In an unprecedented move that betrays little respect and dignity for constitutional offices, Hon’ble CM, Dy. CM and the two Ministers remained defiant and continued to pressurize that the officers must be immediately summoned to Raj Niwas and the so-called ‘agitation’ be called off, and immediate approval of proposal for doorstep delivery of rations be given. Hon’ble LG replied that he had already spoken to officers in this regard and the Hon’ble CM and Ministers’ insistence to summon them is not desirable. ‘Two wrongs never make a right”. Since the Hon’ble CM and Ministers refused to listen to this suggestion and as Hon’ble LG had pre-scheduled appointments at his residence, he had no option but to leave the office.