NEW DELHI: This is not the first time that Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, one of the few appointees of the last government to have survived Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scrutiny, has crossed swords with Aam Aadmi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal. The current face off is over the Chief Minister’s right to have a say in the appointment of his Chief Secretary, in Delhi’s case ‘acting chief secretary’ with Jung insisting on blocking Kejriwal’s views on the matter. Under direction from the central government Jung’s decision has led to an ugly confrontation with legal opinion sought by the Delhi government going against the position taken by the Lt Governor.

Senior advocates Rajeev Dhawan and now Indira Jaising are categorical that the Lt Governor has overstepped his limits. As Jaising said, "There is no provision granting the LG the power to act at his own discretion in the matter of appointment of the chief secretary.”

The Citizen had carried a profile written by journalist BILAL ZAIDI seeking to answer some of the questions raised then, and relevant today, about the positions taken by Najeeb Jung by tracing his chequered career. We reproduce the article below :

NEW DELHI: Frustrated over the Jan Lokpal bill controversy, Aam Aadmi Party has termed Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung an 'agent' of the Congress party, triggering an exchange of words between the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and AAP.

But wordplay aside, this is not the first time question marks are being raised on the LG's credibility.

A graduate of Delhi’s St Stephen's College, Najeeb Jung has been a former bureaucrat, a corporate heavyweight, and most recently, a university head, a career graph that attracts bouquets as well as brickbats.

A 1973-batch IAS officer, Jung served in Madhya Pradesh and New Delhi before finally deciding to quit the services after a stint as Joint Secretary (Explorations) in the Union Ministry of Petroleum.

But this was not before Jung played a crucial role in the privatization of the public sector Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s Panna-Mukta oilfield that went to a consortium of Reliance-ONGC and British Gas. After quitting the IAS, Najeeb Jung joined Reliance Industries.

"Mr Jung was a bright officer, but his decision to join Reliance was severely criticized within the bureaucratic circles. First as the officer in charge of explorations, you play your part that benefits a private company. And then you quit and join the same company. It was seen as very unethical, if not illegal," said a retired bureaucrat who was himself a 1973-batch officer.

Jung, after his initial stint at Reliance moved to London, ostensibly to pursue higher studies. But in 2008, Jung returned to India, this time heading operations at Reliance Industries' Gopal Dass Bhawan office at New Delhi's Barakhamba Road.

During this stint, Najeeb Jung looked after the group's relations with the government, supervising controversial lobbyist Niira Radia.

"Its a very complex circuit. As the Reliance' man in Delhi, you are not only dealing with the various lobbyists and stakeholders, but managing the companies political profile. Its imperative that you deal with the money movers within Political parties. Jung was Reliance's man in Delhi. No wonder he is acceptable across the political divide," said a political insider from the Congress.

Jung, with a reputation of being extremely ambitious, decided to return to the Capital's power circuit. "You have an excellent academic record, you are in the right circuit, and you also happen to be a Muslim! These are the qualities that can make you climb the stairs in the Capital," the Congress insider said.

Najeeb Jung moved back to academics at New Delhi's Observer Research Foundation, which itself receives funding from Reliance Industries and was established by this group. And this paved the way to the much sought after Vice Chancellor's seat at New Delhi, Jamia Millia Islamia University. This was after he offered his residence in Old Delhi to Congress leader Kapil Sibal to run as his election campaign office. Sibal won that Lok Sabha election and went on to become the Human Resource Development Minister.

"During his entire stay as the VC, all he did was project himself as a leading Muslim voice. An energy expert was now writing on issues concerning the Muslim community. So much so, that he even asked faculty members to give him lessons in Urdu," said a Faculty member at Jamia University. Jamia and Aligarh Muslim University, both minority institutions now, have often been used by ambitious Vice Chancellors to catapult themselves to higher positions.

Rising through the ranks to become the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi last year, Najeeb Jung should be a satisfied man. But his detractors and supporters both agree on one thing. "Don't be surprised if his ambitions take him even higher. People close to him say he is eyeing a certain abode on Raisina Hills," said his former colleague.

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