BJP backs move; a ‘black day’ for Delhi, says Cong
The bill introduced in Parliament on Monday, said “government” in Delhi will mean the L-G in context of all legislation passed by the city-state’s assembly and made it mandatory for the city government to seek the L-G’s opinion before any executive action.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday welcomed the Centre’s move to amend the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Act and give overarching powers to the city’s Lieutenant Governor (L-G), even as the Congress termed it as a “black day” for the city.
The bill, introduced in Parliament on Monday, said “government” in Delhi will mean the L-G in context of all legislation passed by the city-state’s assembly and made it mandatory for the city government to seek the L-G’s opinion before any executive action, reviving a power tussle over the governance of the Capital between the Centre and the elected AAP government.
The Congress, which governed Delhi for 15 years before being defeated by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2013, slammed the BJP for curtailing the powers of an elected government as well as the ruling party in the city for being a “mute spectator” despite the knowledge that the Union Cabinet had, in February, approved a proposal to amend the Act.
Delhi Congress vice-president Abhishek Dutt said, “It is black day and a black decision, as it curtails the power of a democratically elected government. This will destroy Delhi’s democratic powers. But the ruling AAP party and a weak CM are equally responsible. The decision was approved by the Cabinet in February. Why didn’t Kejriwal, who is known for sitting on dharnas, protest against it? Why didn’t his ministers or MPs voice their dissatisfaction? All Kejriwal did was tweet.”
BJP leaders, however, welcomed the Centre’s decision, and the party’s Delhi unit chief Adesh Gupta said most administrative powers in the Capital will continue to rest with the state government.
“Even after the amendment Bill, 75% of administrative work and power will rest with Delhi’s government. It will be better that the Arvind Kejriwal government concentrate on good governance and developing Delhi, instead of starting a new power struggle.”
Meanwhile, accusing the AAP of misgovernance, BJP leader Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, leader of the Opposition in the Delhi assembly, called the L-G the “ultimate” authority in Delhi.
“Public money is being wasted, due to which Delhi is in a mess. No new development work has been initiated by this government. As Delhi continues to be a Union Territory, the L-G has the ultimate power. The Centre has only defined the powers more clearly. As for their charge of losing elections, the BJP won all seats in Delhi for a second term in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The Centre has the people’s support,” he said.
Former Congress MLA Anil Bhardwaj said, “If the Bill is passed, it will be a black day for Delhi, the murder of democracy, and a clear violation of the basic tenets of the Constitution.”
The BJP hit back and said the Congress, when in power in the state and Centre, failed to give Delhi full statehood.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana said, “The Congress should answer why their government didn’t give full statehood to Delhi. Their government was in power [in the Centre] when the GNCTD Act was passed in 1991. The state government was not given all the powers. When the BJP came to power [in Delhi] in 1993, the ultimate authority was the L-G. In fact, at that time, important departments like Delhi Jal Board, DTC, DESU and others were not with the Delhi government. There was cordial coordination between the Centre and the-then CMs (Madan Lal Khurana and Sahib Singh Verma, both of the BJP), who brought these departments under the Delhi government.”