New Delhi: Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Wednesday, 18 May, submitted his resignation, citing personal reasons, news agency PTI reported, quoting officials. He has sent his resignation to President Ram Nath Kovind.
The former official was on the executive council of the think tank Vivekananda International Foundation, whose former members, including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, have been elevated to prominent posts by the Modi government.
For years, the office of Lieutenant Governor has been at the center of a power struggle between Delhi’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP, which dominates at the center, until a historic Supreme Court ruling in 2018 clarified their powers.
The Supreme Court declared in a huge triumph for Mr Kejriwal in the years-long battle for control of Delhi that the Lieutenant Governor has no autonomous decision-making powers and that the real power must rest with the elected administration.
The Supreme Court stressed that the Lt Governor has no independent decision-making powers under the constitution, except in matters of land, police, and public order.
The feud has remained smoldering, with Mr Baijal periodically vetoing actions by the Arvind Kejriwal government and the AAP leader retaliating with venomous statements.
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