LG's Move To Stop Specialists' Engagement Will Throttle Govt's Work: Delhi CM Kejriwal

Stopping the engagement of fellows and advisors will "completely strangulate" the Delhi government and its services, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Thursday and hoped the move will be quashed by the Supreme Court.
    
Delhi cabinet minister Atishi told PTI that the termination of engagements by the LG has been challenged in the apex court.
    
Kejriwal's remarks came days after Lt Governor V K Saxena approved the termination of engagements of 400 specialists appointed by the Kejriwal government in different departments and agencies of the government over alleged irregularities in their engagements.
    
In a follow-up to the mass removal, the Services Department on Wednesday wrote to different departments and agencies of government to stop the engagement of persons as fellows and advisors without the approval of the LG.
    
A day later, the Legislative Assembly Secretariat issued an order discontinuing the engagement of 116 fellows under the Delhi Assembly Research Centre only to state later that the decision has been kept in abeyance till further directions.
    
Breaking his silence over the termination of 437 specialists, fellows, assistant fellows, and advisors among others hired by the Delhi government, Kejriwal asked what did the L-G achieve by doing so.
    
"This will completely strangulate the Delhi government and its services. I don't know what Hon'ble LG achieve by doing all this. I hope Hon'ble SC immediately quashes it," Kejriwal said in a tweet on Thursday.
    
The Services department order stated, "All departments/organizations/ boards, etc. under Govt. of NCT of Delhi are therefore directed... All the departments shall immediately stop engagements of all the Fellows/Associates, Fellows/Advisors/Dy. Advisors/Specialists/Senior Research Officers/ Consultants, by whatever name, wherein approval of the Hon'ble Lt Governor, Delhi has not been obtained till date." 
    
It also asked the Finance Department not to release salaries henceforth for those engaged without the LG's approval. 
    
Atishi hit out at the BJP, Centre and the LG alleging they "hated" Delhi people which was why they were hindering the work of the Kejriwal government.
    
Those terminated included pass-outs from reputed institutions like IITs and IIMs who were working on governance and innovations in the Delhi government, she added.