Najeeb Jung meets PM Narendra Modi; says no pressure, no politics behind resignation

Najeeb Jung, who yesterday resigned as Delhi's Lieutenant Governor, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.

New Delhi: Najeeb Jung, who yesterday resigned as Delhi's Lieutenant Governor, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latter's office on Friday.

According to NDTV, the Prime Minister reportedly asked him to carry on, however, Jung politely refused the proposal.

Delhi: Najeeb Jung who tendered his resignation from the position of Delhi's Lieutenant Governor yesterday, leaves PMO pic.twitter.com/4M0RSSeoXe

— ANI (@ANI_news) December 23, 2016

The outgoing Delhi Lt Governor insisted that he wanted to quit as he wants to spend more time with his family and concentrate on writing a book.

"There is no politics behind it. This was a decision I took earlier," Jung was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Jung also categorically dismissed speculation that he was under pressure.

"I have a mother who is 95 and need to give her time and I need to give time to kids, grand kids. I can't take leave in this job," he said.

A running feud with the Aam Aadmi Party government and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal virtually defined Jung's three years in office.

Jung said that he had first offered to resign when the Narendra Modi government came to power in May 2014, months before Kejriwal's party won the Delhi election.

"I had offered to resign as I had been appointed by the previous UPA government, but the PM asked me to carry on. After three years, I requested the PM to relieve me but he asked me to carry on," he said.

"After three and a half years, I requested the PM again on Tuesday that I would like to resign on personal grounds but he said carry on," he added. 

This time, Jung said, he was determined to quit.

Jung's exit yesterday, which caught Delhi's political circles by surprise, also brought the curtain down on a tenure marked by a bitter confrontation with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over who had the real power to administer Delhi.

A statement issued by Jung's office did not cite reasons for his resignation but said he would be returning to academics. Kejriwal said he was surprised by Jung's decision and spoke to him after the news became public.

The LG had won a crucial victory when the Delhi High Court upheld his primacy in administering the capital but the battle is not yet over with the matter before the Supreme Court, which is hearing the appeal filed by the AAP government. 

The SC recently remarked that while Delhi was indeed a Union Territory , the elected government should have "some powers".

With Agency inputs