Letters between Kejriwal and Jung reveal grim turf war

The Lieutenant Governor wrote to the Delhi Government on Wednesday evening stressing that it was his job to approve the transfer and posting of senior officers in consultation with the Chief Minister, reports said.

He also said  Kejriwal's circular asking officials not to follow oral or written orders from the Lieutenant Governor was unconstitutional.

Kejriwal shot off a reply that asked  Jung to explain "under which clause of the Constitution are you sending these directives."

Jung's letter was in response to Kejriwal's  circular on Monday evening instructing bureaucrats not to follow any order from the Lieutenant Governor without running it by the Chief Minister's office.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the crisis, told reporters: "The L-G and Chief Minister must jointly find out a solution to the problem."

AAP accuses the Lieutenant Governor of overstepping his jurisdiction and bypassing a popular, elected government as if Delhi is still under central rule like it was last year, after AAP abruptly quit power.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kejriwal has  asserted that his government should be allowed to function independently.

He has alleged that the Centre is trying to rule Delhi through the Lieutenant Governor.

The power struggle began soon after Jung decided to promote IAS officer Shakuntala Gamlin as acting Chief Secretary of Delhi, without consulting the Chief Minister.

Kejriwal retaliated by removing the officer who signed off on the Lieutenant Governor's order while principal Secretary Anindo Majumdar  was locked out of his office on Monday.

Both Arvind Kejriwal and the Lieutenant Governor met President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday and accused each other of violating the Constitution.

Amid reports that many of the bureaucrats were seeking transfer outside Delhi to avoid get getting caught in the crossfire, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia met the senior officials on Wednesday.