Delhi Services Act a licence for officers to rebel against elected govt orders: Arvind Kejriwal

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said the recently amended Delhi Services Act should be struck down as it has given the bureaucrats “a licence to openly rebel” against the orders of an elected government.

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act came into being earlier this month. It replaced an ordinance which the BJP-led Centre had promulgated following a Supreme Court verdict that gave the control of services to the AAP government.

The Act gives the Centre control over the officers in the Delhi government.

“The Delhi Services Act gives a licence to officers to openly rebel against written orders of the elected government. And officers have started refusing to obey the orders of elected Ministers. Can any State or country or institution run like this?” Mr. Kejriwal said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “This Act will ruin Delhi, which is what the BJP wants. The act needs to be struck down as soon as possible,” he added.