Chief secy assault: Act firm, stop this malaise

If even a fraction of the charge levelled by Delhi’s chief secretary Anshu Prakash against MLAs of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is established through an impartial inquiry, then it’s a black day for administration — and the idea of governance — in India. Mr Prakash filed a report with the police on Tuesday morning alleging that around midnight the previous day, some AAP MLAs and others present at the official residence of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal beat him up and threatened to kill him. He had been instructed by the CM to present himself to discuss an important issue. His plea that the meeting be held the next day was disregarded.

Physically assaulting an official on duty is a serious enough offence, and in this case the officer happened to be the seniormost civil servant of the Delhi government. What compounds the gravity of the case is that the alleged physical attack took place at the CM’s residence. This has never happened before in the country, although there have been unfortunate instances of top civil servants, including chief secretaries, being treated with indignity by boorish CMs out to show who was boss in order to impress their constituents.

In order that this malaise doesn’t spread, and politicians in other states don’t get ideas, swift exemplary action against the wrongdoers is needed. Since Delhi is a Union territory, the Union home ministry should appoint a retired senior judge with a reputation for integrity and political neutrality to lead an inquiry to be completed within a compressed timeframe.

Action must be taken on an urgent basis after such an inquiry. However, the Centre must avoid the political temptation to dismiss the AAP government and dissolve the Delhi Assembly, whose term expires only in 2020.

It can perhaps be argued that a physical assault on the chief secretary by MLAs at the CM’s official residence does amount to breaching the constitutional scheme. But if the matter goes to court, a reasonable bench is unlikely to see the episode as signifying a breakdown of the constitutional machinery in the state, the requirement for brining in Central rule.

Unfortunately, AAP-BJP relations have been very bad from the start. It is widely believed that the Centre has sought to use senior officials, including the lieutenant-governor and members of the all-India services in Delhi, to place roadblocks in the way of functioning for the Arvind Kejriwal government on pettifogging grounds.

This said, Mr Kejriwal and his colleagues, while seeking to implement some useful measures to enhance schemes to benefit the public, have on a frequent basis engaged in wild political theatrics. This is why the party which won 67 of the 70 Assembly seats has had a rough ride when it came to governance.