LG nominates Gahlot to hoist national flag; Kejriwal's pick Atishi denied

New Delhi: Lt. Governor VK Saxena on Tuesday nominated Delhi Home Minister Kailash Gahlot to hoist the national flag at the state-level Independence Day event, bypassing the AAP government's request to allow Education Minister Atishi to do so.

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party, however, welcomed the LG's decision, saying it honoured the principle of democracy by "choosing an elected representative over an appointed one".

Earlier in the day, a row brewed over the issue with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lashing out at Saxena after the general administration department refused to implement Minister Gopal Rai's direction to let Atishi hoist the tricolour in place of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying it was legally "invalid".

Kejriwal, currently in Tihar Jail in the Delhi excise police case, wrote to LG on August 6, seeking the flag hoisting by Atishi, considered close to him, in his absence at the Delhi government's annual event on August 15.

His letter, however, was held back by jail authorities on the ground that the chief minister's communication was not "permissible".

The LG nominated Gahlot for hoisting of the national flag after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday authorised him to nominate any minister of the Delhi government for the same.

On Friday, the LG Secretariat sought MHA's clarification over the impasse due to the "peculiar circumstances of absence of the Chief Minister".

The MHA has the remit to issue guidelines regarding the celebration of Independence Day at the Centre and the states, according to officials at the Raj Niwas.

Ashish Kundra, principal secretary to LG, in a note to Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, said:  "Lieutenant Governor is pleased to nominate Minister (Home), GNCTD, Kailash Gahlot to unfurl the National Flag at the State level Independence day celebrations at Chhatrasal Stadium. Necessary arrangements may be made accordingly." Explaining the nomination of Gahlot by the LG, the note said that the Home Department and the Delhi Police play a primary role vis-a-vis the state-level Independence Day function.

"The Lieutenant Governor has also noted that matters related to the police have been assigned to the Home department under the Allocation of Business Rules, 1993," it said.

As per practice, Delhi Police is responsible for the ceremonial march-past parade after the unfurling of the national flag. The programme of the state-level function of Independence Day is finalised by the Delhi Police and the Home Department, it stated.

It also said that the General Administration Department (GAD) had earlier referred the matter to the CMO seeking the convenience of the chief minister for the function. However, the Chief Minister's office (CMO) returned the file, saying he "is in judicial custody" and, therefore, it was not possible to seek his convenience.

AAP, which earlier vociferously demanded flag hoisting by Atishi, accepted the LG's decision and also took a dig at him.

"We welcome the decision to have Delhi's Home Minister, Kailash Gahlot, hoist the national flag on August 15.

"This move honours the principle of democracy by choosing an elected representative over an appointed one, reinforcing the importance of the people's mandate in our governance," said the party.

Earlier, AAP leader and minister Saurabh Bharadwaj trained his guns at the LG without naming him, saying he should contest the elections in Delhi or Gujarat to have a chance of hoisting the tricolour.

Former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also alleged "petty politics" over the issue and assailed the LG.

"I read in the papers that when a conman Sukesh writes a letter, the Tihar administration duly submits it to the LG office. The LG too promptly takes action on it. But, when the Delhi chief minister writes a letter, the LG asks Tihar officials not to send it to him," said Kejriwal's former deputy.

Any minister of the elected government only should hoist the national flag at the state Independence Day function, Sisodia said and added he did not see any difficulty in it.

The Delhi BJP supported LG's decision to nominate Gahlot for flag hoisting.

"We have been constantly saying that as CM Arvind Kejriwal is in jail, he is not authorised to decide as to who will hoist the national flag in his absence," said Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva.

Since the Delhi chief minister is in jail and not authorised to take a decision then obviously the Lt Governor has the authority to decide and he has "rightfully" nominated one of the senior-most ministers of the government to hoist the national flag, Sachdeva said.