Condemnation of the measure by Kejriwal Government it was quick and the CM himself described it as “unconstitutional and undemocratic.”
The Delhi National Capital Territory Government (Amendment) Bill 2021 says that the LG may specify any matter for which the elected government will need to get its “opinion” and that the expression “Government”, which is referenced in any law the assembly shall mean the LG.
Sources said this is expected to pave the way for the capital to become like any other UT. However, the AAP government believes that it is designed to paralyze its operation.
According to the objects and motives of the bill, it aims to eliminate the lack of clarity on what proposal or issues should be presented to LG before issuing orders. The young Interior Minister G Kishan Reddy introduced the bill, which, according to government sources, is an attempt to clarify the “ambiguities” after two Supreme Court rulings.
Sisodia: Dangerous Consequences for the Federal Structure
Criticizing the move, Kejriwal tweeted: “After being rejected by the people of Delhi (8 seats in the Assembly, 0 in the MCD votes), the BJP seeks to drastically slash the powers of the elected government through a bill in Lok Sabha today. Bill is contrary to the judgment of the Constitutional Court. We strongly condemn the unconstitutional and undemocratic measure of the BJP. ”The BJP had won eight of the 70 seats in the Delhi assembly elections held early last year, and in the recently concluded five-municipal district elections, it won none. AAP affirmed four and Congress one.
SC had observed on July 4, 2018 that the council of ministers only has the obligation to “inform” the LG of its decisions and “no concurrence is required.” In an order of February 14, 2019, the CV had observed that the LG was bound by the help and advice of its council of ministers in matters in which the assembly has legislative powers, and the only exception was a provision to article 239AA, which allowed G to refer to the president any matter on which there is a difference of opinion with the council of ministers. In such a case, the court said, LG would be bound by the president’s decision.
The Center seeks to add a new provision in Section 44 of the Act, which deals with the conduct of business, to make it mandatory to seek LG’s opinion before implementing any decision. The proposed amendment reads: “Provided that before taking any executive action in compliance with the decision of the council of ministers or a minister, exercise powers of government, state government, appropriate government, lieutenant governor, administrator or chief commissioner, as the In any case It may be, under any law in force in the capital, the opinion of the lieutenant governor in terms of exception to clause (4) of article 239AA of the Constitution will be obtained in all matters that are specified, by a general or special order, of the lieutenant governor. ”
Section 239AA deals with the special provisions regarding Delhi. The sources said that with the introduction of this provision, the elected government in the capital will not have any discretion to send proposals to the LG. “This will settle the matter forever. There were several cases where proposals were not forwarded to LG,” a source said.
In another proposal, the Center has said that the LG will not approve a bill approved by the assembly on any matter that is outside the scope of the powers conferred on the legislative assembly and may reserve it for the consideration of the president.
The amendment bill also seeks to ensure that business at the assembly is conducted in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and Business Conduct at the House of People (Lok Sabha). This provision will put an end to any possibility of criticizing any leader or person who is not present or is not a member of the house. Sources said there have been several cases where the names of top central government leaders were taken from the Delhi assembly floor.
Another important provision is that the assembly shall not establish any rule that allows itself or its committees to consider matters of day-to-day management or to conduct investigations in relation to any administrative decision. This will provide a shield for officers who often face the fear of being summoned to the assembly or its committees to make administrative decisions, a source said. Interestingly, the proposed amendment also specifies that any rule made in violation of this provision prior to the start of the amended Act of 2021 will be void.
“The bill says: 1. For Delhi, ‘Government’ will mean LG, so what will the elected government do? 2. All files will go to LG. This goes against the constitutional ruling of 07.04.2018 which said that the files will not be sent to LG, the elected government will make all the decisions and send a copy of the decision to LG, “Kejriwal stated in another tweet.
Senior Deputy Minister Manish Sisodia said the bill will render the elected CM meaningless and will have dangerous consequences for the country’s federal structure. Sisodia called a press conference at the Delhi Secretariat and launched an attack on the BJP-led Center.
“The central government led by the BJP has made an unconstitutional and undemocratic decision to restrict the powers of the elected government of Delhi. This bill will make the elections and decisions of an elected government for its people meaningless. It would simply be LG Delhi, backed by Union government, make decisions for the people, which is highly undemocratic and contrary to all the ideals of the Constitution, “said Sisodia.
“This bill will stall Delhi’s progress by giving LG undue powers,” he said. “All decisions made by the Delhi government for the growth of the city have seen an intrusion by LG. Archives on the progress of mohalla clinics, CCTV installation, electricity, water and free schools have collected dust with LG due to lack of support from their office. ”
Sisodia said that “the reason why BJP goes against the Constitution and keeps LG in power is because it does not want the people of Delhi to benefit from the unique and quality provisions in education, health care, water and electricity. BJP has meddled with the welfare and provisions for the people in various states where it has power and now wants to ensure that the people of Delhi do not benefit from the legitimate provisions and initiatives of the Delhi government. ” Sisodia said the government will explore all available remedies.
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