Opposition will be able to defeat Delhi services bill in Rajya Sabha: AAP

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh said the Opposition has enough votes in the Rajya Sabha to defeat the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill. The bill, introduced by Home Minister Amit Shah, aims to replace an ordinance that allows the central government to retain control over the bureaucracy in Delhi. The BJP has enough numbers in both houses of Parliament to pass the bill. The AAP has been rallying opposition parties to vote against it. The bill has been criticized for taking powers away from Delhi's elected government and giving them to the lieutenant governor and bureaucracy.

As Union home minister Amit Shah introduced the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha to replace the contentious ordinance on the control of services in the Capital, senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said that the Opposition has a sufficient number of votes in the Rajya Sabha to defeat the bill in the upper house.

Suspended AAP MP Sanjay Singh with AAP MP Sushil Kumar 'Rinku' at Parliament House complex during the monsoon session in New Delhi on Tuesday. (PTI)

“The Opposition has a sufficient number in the Rajya Sabha to defeat the bill there,” said Singh, who was suspended from the Rajya Sabha last week for the rest of the Monsoon session for “unruly behaviour”.

The AAP has been rallying opposition parties to vote against the bill in the Rajya Sabha.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has enough numbers in both houses of Parliament for the bill to sail through.

The legislation will replace the ordinance promulgated by the President on May 19 to allow the Centre to retain control over the bureaucracy in Delhi and effectively rolled back a Constitution bench judgment of the Supreme Court (SC) that handed over control of the bureaucracy in the Capital to the elected government, excluding those connected to police, public order and land.

The ordinance had reignited a heated tussle between the elected AAP and the centrally appointed lieutenant governor (LG) over control of the national capital.

“The bill is against the decision of the Supreme Court, the Constitution, and the country’s federal structure. The bill is unconstitutional because it takes away the rights of Delhi’s elected chief minister,” said Singh.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha criticised the legislation, claiming it will turn democracy into “babucracy.”

“This bill essentially takes all powers away from Delhi’s elected government and transfers them to the lieutenant governor and ‘babus’. This bill will give the bureaucracy and the LG overriding powers,” Chadha said, calling the bill undemocratic.

“The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been unable to form a government in Delhi. In the last 25 years, all six Delhi chief ministers were non-BJP. The BJP has become politically irrelevant in Delhi, prompting their desperate attempt through this bill to seize power from the AAP and render the Delhi government ineffective. The BJP is unable to digest the success of Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP and wishes to stop him at any cost,” said Chadha.

Meanwhile, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva welcomed the bill’s introduction in Parliament and said its passage would help ensure proper corruption-free administration in Delhi. “The Arvind Kejriwal government attempted to bully bureaucrats and force them to bow to its whims after the Supreme Court order,” Sachdeva added.