‘Legally invalid, cannot be acted upon’: GAD on Arvind Kejriwal’s direction for Atishi to hoist the national flag

The General Administration Department (GAD) said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal cannot authorise AAP minister Atishi to hoist the national flag during Independence Day on his behalf. GAD said the direction "legally invalid and cannot be acted upon".

This comes after AAP minister Gopal Rai directed the GAD to make arrangements for hoisting of the national flag on Independence Day by his colleague Atishi. The directions were issued after Rai met with CM Kejriwal, who is still lodged in Tihar Jail, in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam. 

GAD additional chief secretary Navin Kumar Chaudhary said that the CM’s direction is invalid and cannot be acted upon. The officer said that the CM’s communication to LG VK Saxena on August 6 was “not permissible” according to prison rules.

Chaudhary said that the preparations are underway for Independence Day at the regular venue of Chhatrasal Stadium. He also said that further order on who will hoist the flag is awaited, and the matter has been communicated to the “higher authority”. 

While Kejriwal, in a letter to the LG, had said that Atishi would hoist the Tricolour, the LG office maintained that they did not receive any communication from the chief minister. The Tihar Jail authorities informed Kejriwal that his letter to Saxena was "an abuse of privileges" granted to him under the Delhi Prison Rules and, therefore, it was not not sent to the addressee.

Kejriwal was informed that his letter to the LG was not sent to the addressee. The superintendent of Tihar's jail number 2 cited various provisions of the Delhi Prisons Rules, 2018, and advised Kejriwal in a letter "to desist from any such impermissible activity" or his privileges would be curtailed.