Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was at his aggressive best as he took a leaf out of a Shah Rukh Khan movie to attack Lt Governor Anil Baijal on Wednesday. “My name is Kejriwal and I am not a terrorist,” he declared in the one-day special session of the state assembly.
The context was the tabling and passage of a bill seeking to regularise 15,000 guest teachers in schools run by the Delhi government. The Kejriwal government brought the bill to the assembly in defiance of Baijal, who had written to the state government saying the legislative proposal was unconstitutional and asked it to reconsider it. Baijal wrote that the bill was “not in accordance with the Constitutional scheme of governance of NCT of Delhi.”
The LG had said hiring of teachers comes under the services department, which reports directly to him. He also referred to the Delhi High Court's order which stated that the NCT government cannot claim any executive power in relation to matters with respect to services.
By passing the bill, the Kejriwal government has set up a fresh confrontation with Baijal. Kejriwal tabled the bill in the assembly amidst high drama as BJP legislators got up to protest, saying due process was not being followed in passage of the bill. The three BJP MLAs then staged a walk out from the house.
Tabling the bill, the chief minister launched an attack on the Lt governor, asking why were files related to the functioning of the Delhi government kept as a secret from him and his ministers. “My ministers and I are elected representatives voted by the people. We are not terrorists,” he said.
Kejriwal, a known movie buff, then took inspiration from a dialogue Shah Rukh Khan's character delivers in the film My name is Khan to declare on the floor of the house, “My name is Kejriwal and I am not a terrorist.”
Delhi government plans to regularise around 15,000 out of the 50,000 guest teachers working in its schools. It argues that recruitment of teachers comes well within the ambit of the education department.
