The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi is not a “Viceroy” but simply an agent of the President whose powers depend on the pleasure of the President, senior advocate P. Chidambaram submitted on behalf of the Delhi AAP government in the Supreme Court on Wednesday. “He is not what he thinks he is today – a Viceroy,” Mr. Chidambaram said in his opening statement to a five-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.
While the court agreed that the LG cannot intervene in the day-to-day functioning of the democratically elected government, Mr. Chidambaram said the decision to have an elected government in the National Capital was made because the people had found it necessary.
The 69th Constitutional Amendment, introducing an elected government to the National Capital, was passed by a “very, very special majority of the people’s representatives because they felt that there was something deficient in the Constitution.”
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“This court has to look into what were the sentiments of the people to bring in these special provisions for Delhi. Your Lordships should not interpret the special provisions in such a way that it diminishes democracy. You should interpret the provisions to advance a republic and democratic form of government...,” Mr. Chidambaram said.