Will the government run from Tihar Jail? Kejriwal can remain CM of Delhi, these are 5 options…

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been sent to Tihar Jail for 15 days judicial custody in the liquor scam. Kejriwal is the first Chief Minister of the country who has been arrested while in office. Despite the arrest, Kejriwal has decided not to resign from the post of Chief Minister. However, only the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi has the right to allow the Chief Minister to run the government from jail. In such a situation, what options are left for Arvind Kejriwal?

Option 1- Arvind Kejriwal should remain the Chief Minister and he should be allowed to run the government under a special arrangement inside the jail, but the possibility of this option is very less because the Lieutenant Governor has assured the people of Delhi that he will not run the government from the jail. Arrangements like meeting and viewing files inside the jail are not in the jail manual and permission can be given only if the Lieutenant Governor wishes.

Option 2- Arvind Kejriwal should remain the Chief Minister and in his place, give the responsibility of looking after the work of the Chief Minister’s office to one of the cabinet ministers in his absence. This usually happens when the Chief Minister is out somewhere or there is some kind of medical emergency. It is not yet clear whether the Lieutenant Governor or the President will give such permission in case Kejriwal goes to jail.

Option 3- Arvind Kejriwal should resign and make someone else the Chief Minister in his place. Although the Aam Aadmi Party is currently denying this possibility, but according to the sources of the Lieutenant Governor’s Secretariat, this is the best option left, by which the constitutional crisis can be avoided and at the same time the government can be run smoothly. .

Option 4- If Arvind Kejriwal remains adamant on running the government from jail, then the government can be dismissed citing constitutional crisis. To do this the Lieutenant Governor can send his report to the President. Delhi’s system runs on the basis of Sections 239 AA and 239 AB of the Constitution, in which the Lieutenant Governor has the full right to make such recommendations, but doing so can lead to a legal battle to dismiss the majority government just before the Lok Sabha elections. And it may also have to suffer political losses. Therefore, this possibility is not being considered at present.

Option 5- The way the government is running after the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal on March 21, the government should be allowed to run for the next few months as long as the code of conduct for Lok Sabha elections is in force. It is noteworthy that the Chief Minister does not have any department, hence the possibility of the work related to the department being affected is less. Anyway, after the introduction of the code of conduct, the government has very little authority to take decisions related to policy. Also, since the budget of this financial year has been passed, there is no financial challenge of any kind.