“I am an elected chief minister, not a terrorist,” Arvind Kejriwal said today while dramatically hitting out at Lt Governor Anil Baijal for “opposing” a Bill to regularise guest teachers in Delhi.
At a daylong session of the Delhi Assembly, Kejriwal launched a broadside against the LG, BJP and the bureaucracy, alleging a nexus between them, which prompted a walkout by the opposition.
“Hum Delhi ke maalik hai (we are Delhi’s masters), not the bureaucracy” he asserted at one point, which was greeted with loud cheers and table thumping by the Aam Aadmi Party MLAs.
He was taking part in a discussion on a Bill introduced in the Assembly to regularise the employment of around 15,000 guest teachers (working on contractual basis) in Delhi government-run schools. The Bill was later passed by the House through voice vote.
Registering his objection, Baijal had said that matters relating to ‘services’ fall beyond the legislative competence of the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi and that the proposed legislation was not in accordance with the Constitutional scheme.
Kejriwal alleged that the files relating to the regularisation of the teachers were never shown to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, by the officials on the direction of the LG.
“What state secrets do these files contain that they cannot be shown to us? I want to tell the LG that I am an elected CM of Delhi and not a terrorist. He (Sisodia) is an elected education minister, not a terrorist,” Kejriwal said, drawing references from a dialogue of the 2010 Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘My Name is Khan’.
The AAP chief’s combative speech, something he is known for, comes after a long gap when he remained unusually quiet, even on social media, refraining from attacking the opposition or Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kejriwal also took exception to Baijal’s objection that the government did not consult the Law Department before introducing the Bill.
“People did not elect the law secretary, they elected us. The country is run on democracy, not bureaucracy. We are Delhi’s masters. They (bureaucrats) will follow our orders,” he said.
