Standoff with LG: Arvind Kejriwal calls emergency session of Delhi Assembly

New Delhi: The Aadmi Aadmi Party (AAP) government has called an emergency meeting of the Delhi Assembly on May 26 and 27, reports said on Saturday.

The meeting has been called by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to discuss MHA notification over the distribution of powers between the Lieutenant Governor's office and the Delhi Chief Minister's office.

"A special session has been called on May 26 and May 27 to discuss the Centre`s notification which has taken away power from the Delhi assembly," the Delhi government said in a statement.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The statement further said that legal opinions from constitutional experts like KK Venugopal and former Solicitor General of India Gopal Subramanium were placed before the cabinet and discussed in the meeting.

"The cabinet also decided that depending on the requirement, the session can be extended further," the statement said.

The Kejriwal government had also sought the opinion of legal and constitutional experts over the notification.

The MHA had issued the notification on Friday stating that the Lieutenant Governor has primacy in postings and transfers of officers belonging to Central services.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had reacted strongly to the notification, saying that the NDA Government at the Centre was trying to run the national capital through the 'backdoor'.

Kejriwal had also stated that the notification was indicative of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) nervousness about the Aam Aadmi Party's anti-corruption efforts.

Meanwhile, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had also criticised the notification, terming it as an attempt to "save the transfer-posting industry being run in Delhi".