New Delhi: The uncertainty over government formation in Delhi may come to an end soon with the Supreme Court putting the issue on fast track even as the President accepted an LG proposal that BJP be asked to form the
government.
A five-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu, however, while deciding to hear on Thursday the petition filed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) seeking dissolution of the Assembly, slammed the Centre and the Lt Governor over the five-month delay in taking a decision on government formation.
During the hearing today the Centre disclosed that the President has given his consent to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung's proposal to invite BJP to form government.
Rapping the Centre and the LG over the delay, the court said that in a democracy President's Rule cannot go on forever and questioned why the authorities failed to act expeditiously.
The bench also asked why the Centre always comes out with one statement or another just a day before the matter is taken up for hearing by it.
"Just before matter is taken up for hearing, you make a statement. Why was it not decided earlier? How long can you go on like this?" the bench said, adding that LG should have taken the decision at the earliest.
"We can't shrug our responsibility and we will hear the case on merit," the bench said, adding, "in a democratic polity people have right to have government and not to be ruled by a governor."
It said that such issues take time and that is why it adjourned the case many times to facilitate the LG to take a decision but nothing has been done. Referring to the President's letter which was placed before the bench, the apex court said that "this exercise should have been done much earlier".
At the moment, a party needs the support of 34 MLAs for a simple majority in a House of 70 with three vacancies which are to be filled in bye elections late next month.
BJP had emerged the single largest party after the Assembly polls in December last year with 31 seats apart from the support of ally Akali Dal's one MLA in the 70-member House. But its numbers have now come down to 28 after three of its legislators--Harsh Vardhan, Ramesh Bidhuri and Pervesh Verma--were elected to Lok Sabha.
