SC verdict: Kejriwal to meet Chidambaram to thank him

Following his "major victory" in the Supreme Court in his bitter power tussle with Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will meet former Union minister P Chidambaram today to "thank" him for representing the city government as one of its counsel in the apex court.

The apex court today ruled that the LG has no independent power to take decisions and is bound by the elected government's advice.

"The chief minister will meet P Chidambaram in the evening to thank him. He was one of the lawyers who represented Delhi government in the Supreme Court," an official said.

The five-judge bench of the Supreme Court today said in a unanimous ruling pronounced by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that "there is no room for absolutism and there is no room for anarchism also."

The ruling also held that the Lieutenant Governor, who is appointed by the Centre, cannot act as an "obstructionist."

The ruling vindicates Kejriwal, who has long accused Baijal of preventing him from functioning properly at the behest of the Centre.

It also lays down for the first time clear guidelines for the LG's conduct, and delineates the powers of the two branches of the executive in Delhi, which does not have the status of a full state yet elects its own MLAs and government.