In a significant crackdown, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has fired 223 staffers from the capital’s women commission. Swati Maliwal, an AAP MP, is accused of making the appointments while serving as chairwoman of the Delhi Commission for Women in contravention of norms.
Ms. Maliwal has denounced the Lieutenant Governor’s directive, claiming that the women’s commission will cease operations if all contractual personnel are removed. She stated that the panel now has 90 members. Eight of them are government employees, with the remainder on three-month contracts. “Why do they do this? This organisation has been built with blood and sweat.” Daring the Lieutenant Governor to imprison her, she declared, “I will not let the Women’s Commission close down. Put me in jail, but do not torment women.
The Lieutenant Governor’s Office issued an order citing the Delhi Commission for Women Act, stating that the panel has a sanctioned strength of 40 personnel and that 223 additional positions were formed without the Lieutenant Governor’s authority. The order further stipulates that the commission does not have the power to hire contract personnel. The action was based on an investigation report delivered to the then-Lieutenant Governor in February 2017.
The directive, issued by the Additional Director of the Women and Child Development Department, also claimed that no review of key positions was conducted prior to the appointments. According to the directive, the commission was instructed that they could not take any action “which entails additional financial liability for the government” unless the finance department approved it.
According to the report, the appointments were not made in accordance with established protocols. “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,”
Ms Maliwal led the Delhi Commission for Women for nine years before being elected as an AAP MP to the Rajya Sabha. The position of panel chairperson is presently empty. The ruling states that Ms Maliwal was repeatedly told to get clearance from the finance department for the hiring.
The AAP has regularly accused the Lieutenant Governor’s Office of impeding its governance efforts. The Lieutenant Governor is a centrally appointed official, and the AAP has accused the ruling BJP of restricting its ability to operate freely.
The news also comes while AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is in jail after being detained in connection with suspected irregularities in the capital’s now-defunct liquor policy.
