Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday that if the Centre has any problem with the appointment of an inquiry commission to probe alleged irregularities in Delhi District Cricket Association, it should go to court and reiterated that the Aam Aadmi Party government will not step back from its decision.
"We will not back off our decision. If the Union home ministry has any problem with Delhi government’s notification to appoint commission of inquiry to probe the alleged irregularities in the DDCA, it may approach the Delhi high court," Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal said that an elected government of Delhi has the power to constitutea commission of inquiry and the Centre can not declare the probe panel 'null and void'.
Kejriwal's remark comes a few days after Lt Governor Najeeb Jung sought Centre's intervention, questioning the legality of appointment of the inquiry panel.
"In a communication to the ministry of home affairs, the LG has stated that the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952 empowers only the Centre and state governments to appoint a commission of inquiry. Since, Delhi is a UnionTerritory, a commission of inquiry may be ordered only with the concurrence of the Centre, through the LG," sources said.
On Friday, Kejriwal claimed that the action amounts to 'unjustified interference' as the inquiry is 'perfectly' legal and Union minister Arun Jaitley should cooperate with the inquiry commission and stop 'misusing' the LG office.
"We are not scared when all the agencies under them including police, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Director of Revenue Intelligence are after us, why are they scared with one commission of enquiry?" he had said.
The Delhi government had earlier this week appointed a commission of inquiry, headed by former solicitor general Gopal Subramanium, to probe the alleged corruption in the DDCA between 1992 and 2015, and asked it to submit its report within three months.
The government had said that the one-member commission of inquiry will identify any acts of omission and commission by the DDCA and its office-bearers during the period between January 1, 1992 and November 30, 2015 and fix responsibility.
The state cricket body had been headed by Jaitley for around 13 years from 1999 to 2013.
