Hiring of 'specialists' was as per Constitution, says AAP

New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) The AAP-led Delhi government on Sunday denied the allegations made by the Lt Governor (L-G) V.K. Saxena regarding the recruitment of 'fellows/ specialists'.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said the allegations were nothing but a political vendetta and a desperate attempt to create a media sensation ahead of the hearing in Supreme Court on the Ordinance on Delhi service matters.

It said that the government unequivocally reiterates that the appointment of these fellows/specialists was made in accordance with the prescribed rules and regulations of the departments or institutions they were hired by.

"The L-G's statement follows the brazenly illegal and unconstitutional order issued by the Services department terminating hundreds of young professionals hired under one fellowship programme of Delhi Assembly (DARC i.e. Delhi Assembly Research Center Fellowship) and two fellowship programmes of Delhi government viz. CMULF (CM's Urban Leaders Fellowship) and CMIE (Change Maker in Education Fellowship). 

"It is a matter of record that these prestigious Fellowship programmes follow a very transparent, objective and rigorous selection process comprising of open public advertisements in newspapers followed by eligibility-criteria based shortlisting, essays/presentation-based evaluation and final round of interviews. 

"The entire selection process of these programmes is administered by government officers of the concerned departments. Over the years, some of the brightest minds from prestigious universities in India and around the world such as Cambridge, LSE, IIM Ahmedabad, NALSAR, NLU, JNU, IIT Kharagpur etc. have been engaged through these programmes," the AAP said.

It further said that these fellowships were created after obtaining all due administrative approvals. 

For instance, the DARC Fellowship was set up on the basis of the recommendations of the General Purposes Committee of the Delhi Assembly. The report to this effect was adopted by the Assembly in its sitting held in 2019.

The Concept Note of programme was thereafter approved by the Delhi governmen's Finance Department after which the fellowship programme was launched, the statement said.