Lok Sabha clears Bill that clips Delhi Govt wings, Amit Shah says Opposition worry is alliance politics

As the Bill was being passed, the AAP’s lone Lok Sabha member, Sushil Singh Rinku, went to the well of the House, tore some papers and threw them in the direction of Speaker Om Birla. He was later suspended for the rest of the session.

The Opposition parties, which have been protesting to press their demand for a statement by Modi on Manipur, were participating in House proceedings for the first time since the start of the session.

Accusing the Opposition of double standards, Shah said: “Since this session has begun, the House has passed nine Bills. They were all important Bills. But at that time, the Opposition kept saying they wanted the PM to speak or else the House would not function. What happened today?”

Replying to the nearly four-hour-long debate, he said: “You are worried about democracy? But if that is so, every Bill is important. If you are worried about the country, there was a Bill on farmers. They are neither worried about democracy, nor the country. They are only worried about their alliance. India must watch and see your duplicity. For you, the worry is that even a small party must not leave your alliance. But, after this Bill is passed, your alliance is not going to sustain anyway. (Delhi Chief Minister Arvind) Kejriwal will say bye-bye to you.”

“The alliance won’t be beneficial, because despite forming an alliance, Narendra Modi will return as PM with a complete majority. So don’t sacrifice public interest for the sake of the alliance. People can see through it all,” said Shah.

He said the Opposition was not worried about Manipur too. “They just want to create doubt in the minds of the people, but they have been exposed,” he said.

Responding to criticism over the Bill, he said: “Everyone is talking about the rights of a state. What state? Delhi is not a state. It is a Union Territory. It is also the capital. It has been created under a special Article, from Article 239 to Article 242. The working of the Delhi administration has been accepted by the Constitution. We did not bring a Constitutional amendment on this, you did (through the 69th amendment). You are the one who did not give the rights. According to Article 239AA, Parliament has the right to make laws related to the Union Territory of Delhi”.

“The Supreme Court has done an interpretation that if you want services in your hands then you will have to bring a law, and we are doing that now,” he said. Shah said that under normal circumstances, the Centre cannot interfere in the affairs of a state, but suggested that the AAP government’s manner of functioning had forced the Centre’s hand.

“In Delhi, the Centre can interfere under Article 239AA. Those who are saying their powers have been snatched should have read the statute before contesting elections. From 1993 to 2015, Delhi functioned under the existing system; no CM fought with the Centre. Everyone wanted to serve the people, and for that you do not need to fight,” he said.

“Cabinet notes always go with the signature of the chief secretary. What used to happen here is that when it was a dubious note, the file would not go to the chief secretary. In my entire political career, I have never heard of a Cabinet note with the signature of a minister. That is why we had to frame rules. Because these people do not go by the rules,” he said.

Referring to the Supreme Court’s May 11 ruling, in which a five-judge Constitution Bench held that the NCT administration has been accorded a ‘sui generis’ (unique) status by the Constitution, and an elected government needs to have control over bureaucrats, Shah said the same evening, the Delhi government sought to shunt out key officials.

“This when the SC is yet to decide the matter through a two-judge bench. Only an in-principle order has come as of now. They announced… that Services Secretary Ashish More has been transferred. Then the Vigilance Minister ordered all officials to not report to the Special Secretary, Vigilance. Why was this done? Because the department had many sensitive files such as those related to the excise scam in which the Deputy CM is in jail; to expenses on the CM’s house; to money spent by the party on advertisements; to their feedback system; to irregularities with the BSES,” he said.

Accusing AAP of opposing the Bill “to hide their corruption”, Shah asked the Opposition to “think about Delhi, not their alliance”. Even leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Rajendra Prasad and Dr B R Ambedkar had opposed full statehood for Delhi, he said.

Targeting the Opposition alliance, he said: “Rajiv Ranjan (JD-U) spoke about lok laaj (shame)… The people against whom you agitated over the fodder scam, you are sitting with them today. In Bengal, Adhir Ranjan Choudhary keeps attacking Mamata, but sits with her in Bengaluru. In Kerala, LDF and UDF were fighting against each other, but lust for power has brought them together.”

Besides the BJP’s allies, both the YSRCP and the BJD supported the Bill, as announced earlier. BJD member Pinaki Mishra said the Constitution permits the government to bring this law on Delhi, although it is not permissible in other states. “Because of certain acts of omission or commission, the Centre has decided to bring this Bill to put fetters on the Delhi government,” he said. He also sought to draw a distinction between supporting Parliament’s power to enact the legislation, and supporting the BJP.

YSRCP’s Midhun Reddy said while his party supports the Bill, he hoped that the Centre would not bring such Bills for other states.

The BJD and YSRCP have nine members each in Rajya Sabha. With their support, the ruling side can cross the halfway mark in Rajya Sabha too.

On May 19, the Centre promulgated the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023 to set up a National Capital Civil Service Authority for transfer and posting of Group-A officers in Delhi. The Chief Minister is one of the three members of the Authority, while the two others are bureaucrats. The decisions by the Authority are to be taken by a majority and, in the event of a dispute, the matter will be referred to the L-G whose decision will be final.

The AAP government in Delhi has challenged the constitutional validity of the ordinance in the Supreme Court, which has referred the plea to a Constitution Bench.