Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena nominated Delhi Home Minister Kailash Gahlot to hoist the national flag at the official Independence Day event in Delhi. The decision to appoint Gahlot came amid the standoff and uncertainty over who will lead the state Independence Day event on August 15.
"Lieutenant Governor is pleased to nominate Minister (Home), GNCTD, Kailash Gahlot to unfurl the National Flag at the State level Independence day celebrations at Chhatrasaal Stadium. Necessary arrangements may be made accordingly," LG's secretary Ashish Kundra said in a written communication to Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar.
Earlier, it was said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wanted Atishi to hoist the flag in his place during the Delhi government's Independence Day programme. "I had a meeting with Chief Minister today. He desires that Minister Atishi should hoist the flag on 15th August 2024," Delhi minister Gopal Rai said in a letter to the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of General Administration Department (GAD) on August 12.
However, the Delhi government's general administration department refused to implement Gopal Rai's direction for the hosting of national flag by Education Minister Atishi. GAD additional chief secretary Navin Kumar Chaudhary said the CM's direction is "legally invalid and cannot be acted upon".
In a letter to the L-G Saxena last week, Kejriwal, who is currently in Tihar Jail, said cabinet minister Atishi would hoist the national flag. The LG office, however, maintained that they did not receive any communication from the chief minister, news agency PTI reported.
Also, the Tihar Jail authorities informed Kejriwal that his letter to Saxena was "an abuse of privileges" granted to him under the Delhi Prison Rules and, therefore, it was not sent to the addressee.
Now, choosing Kailash Gahlot bypasses several other senior government leaders and is likely to set a stage for another round of tussle between the AAP dispensation and the LG Secretariat.
