New Delhi: The Supreme Court yesterday gave the central government a month to end the deadlock over government formation in Delhi, even as AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal vowed not to let the BJP take power using “unfair means”.
The former chief minister also said his party was in touch with the Congress and other legislators in the splintered 70-seat assembly to block the Bharatiya Janata Party from forming a government.
He said he would meet Lt- Governor Najeeb Jung today and urge him to “revise” his letter of September 4 to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking permission to invite the BJP to form a “stable government” — and prove its majority in the house within a week.
The constitution bench of Chief Justice-designate Justice H L Dattu and Justices J Chelameswar, A K Sikri, A K Agrawal and Arun Mishra gave the government till October 10 — the next date of hearing — to resolve the political deadlock.
The ruling came after Additional Solicitor General P S Narsimha told the court that Jung had written to the president indicating his preference for the BJP, which has 28 seats in the assembly, just one more than AAP.
“I shall be grateful if the president grants approval to invite the BJP, even today the single largest party in the legislature, to (explore) their interest in forming the government,” Jung said in his letter made public yesterday.
The apex court told the central government to inform it about the president’s decision.
The Delhi assembly was placed under suspended animation after the Aam Aadmi Party government resigned in February, ending 49 days of governance by Kejriwal.
The AAP is insisting on fresh elections, underlining that no single party enjoyed legislative majority in the assembly to form a government.
The impasse in the capital got sullied on Monday when the AAP released a covertly shot video showing a BJP leader — since pulled up by the party — offering money to an AAP legislator to resign from the assembly.
Kejriwal threatened to release more such videos at the “appropriate time”.
IANS
