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Journalism of Courage
The Delhi Assembly on Tuesday clearly set the tone for a resolution against a notification issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs that gave the purview of “services” to Lt-Governor. The second day of the special session of the Assembly on Wednesday is likely to see the House move a resolution against the notification, with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia placing a motion to discuss it at the start of proceedings on Tuesday. Later in the day, AAP MLA Somnath Bharti even moved a private members’ resolution calling the notification “unconstitutional and illegal”.
In his address to the house, Sisodia said, “We are being told that this notification has been passed because Delhi has no state services of its own. Tomorrow the central government can say that you don’t have the Himalayas or Gangotri and therefore no control over the sources of water…Nobody has the right to amend the Constitution with an executive order.”
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Sisodia also said that the central government was “scared of the ACB’s (anti-corruption branch’s) effectiveness” and suggested that “maybe there are vested interests” cutting across party lines. “For the first they want a system, based on where the accused is from. “Delhi was plagued by corruption. People have given us a massive mandate to run the government. This government has taken corruption head on and achieved unprecedented success. The Centre is trying to thwart Delhi government’s attempts. The ACB has done unprecedented work in the last 100 days despite several odds,” he said, initiating the House debate on the notification.
In the afternoon, Dwarka MLA Adarsh Shastri also suggested that there be an amendment to Section 155 of the Constitution to allow a Legislative Assembly the right to impeach a Lt-Governor if they were to work against the Constitution. “There have been many reports on this such as the Sarkaria Commission report. The elected government should also have a voice in the appointment of the Lt-Governor,” Shastri said.
AAP MLA Somnath Bharti moved a private member’s resolution towards the end of proceedings, which said that the MHA had sought “to add entry No. 41 to the list of reserved subjects without seeking the approval of the Parliament of India”.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called on Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung in what senior government officials called a “routine weekly meeting”. Delhi chief secretary K K Sharma was also present. This is the first time the two met after a row over their administrative powers broke out more than 10 days ago.
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