Lt Governor Sacks 223 From Delhi Women Panel, AAP’s Swati Maliwal Replies

In a major crackdown, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has removed 223 employees of the capital’s women commission. AAP MP Swati Maliwal, it is alleged, made the appointments during her term as chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women in violation of the rules.

Ms Maliwal has slammed the Lieutenant Governor’s order, saying that the women’s commission will shut down if all contractual staff are removed. She has said the panel has a total of 90 staff members now. Out of them, 8 are from the government and the remaining are on three-month contracts. “Why are they doing this? This organisation has been nourished with blood and sweat.” Daring the Lieutenant Governor to put her in jail, she added, “I will not let the women commission shut down. Put me in jail, but don’t torture women.”

LG साहब ने DCW के सारे कॉंट्रैक्ट स्टाफ को हटाने का एक तुग़लकी फ़रमान जारी किया है। आज महिला आयोग में कुल 90 स्टाफ है जिसमें सिर्फ़ 8 लोग सरकार द्वारा दिये गये हैं, बाक़ी सब 3 – 3 महीने के कॉंट्रैक्ट पे हैं। अगर सब कॉंट्रैक्ट स्टाफ हटा दिया जाएगा, तो महिला आयोग पे ताला लग जाएगा।…

— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) May 2, 2024

The order issued by the Lieutenant Governor’s office cites the Delhi Commission for Women Act and says that the panel has a sanctioned strength of 40 employees and that 223 new posts were created without the approval of the Lieutenant Governor. The order also states that the commission does not have the authority to hire employees on contract. The action has been taken on the basis of an inquiry report submitted to the then Lieutenant Governor in February 2017.

The order, issued by the Additional Director of the Women and Child Development department, also stated that no evaluation of essential posts was carried out before the appointments. The order says that the commission had been informed that they shall not take any step “which entails additional financial liability for the government” without the approval of the finance department.

A probe, it said, had found that these appointments were not made according to laid down procedures. “Further, the enhancement of the remuneration and allowances to the staff of DCW was without adequate justification and in violation of the laid down procedures and guidelines,” it added.

Before entering Rajya Sabha as an AAP MP, Ms Maliwal headed the Delhi Commission for Women for nine years. The post of the panel’s chairperson is currently vacant. The order mentions that Ms Maliwal was advised repeatedly to seek the finance department’s approval with regard to the appointments.

The crackdown is set to become another flashpoint between the Lieutenant Governor’s office and the ruling AAP over the administration of the national capital.

The AAP has repeatedly accused the Lieutenant Governor’s office of blocking its governance steps. The Lieutenant Governor is a central appointee, and AAP has accused the ruling BJP of not allowing it to act freely.

The development also comes at a time when AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is in jail after being arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in the capital’s now-scrapped liquor policy.