Delhi: Services Of 400 'Specialists' To Delhi Govt Terminated, Says LG Office

Delhi's Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has terminated the services of 400 'specialists' appointed by the Arvind Kejriwal-led Government of Delhi, said officials on Monday. 

The order issued by the Saxena's office said they were engaged by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in a "non-transparent manner" and without mandatory approvals from the competent authority, reported PTI. 

These persons were engaged by the Kejriwal government as Fellows, Associate Fellows, Advisors, Deputy Advisors, Specialists, Senior Research Officers, and Consultants in various departments and agencies of the government.

The report further said that the Kejriwal government did not follow the reservation policy for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the appointment as is mandated by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). 

While there was no immediate reaction from AAP, the decision could trigger a fresh round of tensions and war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Centre and AAP, which have been engaged in a tussle for a long time over the governance of Delhi. The AAP has long accused the BJP and Centre of undermining the elected Government of Delhi through the unelected Lieutenant Governor. The two parties are also set for a face-off in the court as AAP has challenged the ordinance over the control of services in Delhi. 

"Delhi LG, VK Saxena has agreed to the proposal of the Services department to immediately terminate the services of about 400 private persons engaged as Fellows/Associate Fellows/Advisors / Dy Advisors/Specialists/Senior Research Officers/Consultants, etc by Delhi government in its various departments and agencies," the PTI quoted Saxena's order as saying.