Are Delhiites half citizens of India, questions Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Making a renewed pitch for full statehood, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday that over the past one-and-half years the Centre has reduced

NEW DELHI: Making a renewed pitch for full statehood, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday that over the past one-and-half years the Centre has reduced powers of the elected Delhi government.

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He went on to liken the current status of the Delhi government with one put in place by the Britishers through the Government of India Act in 1935.

“You can elect your representatives, but they (elected leaders) can’t run the government... The same system has been implemented in Delhi now,” Kejriwal said, targeting the central government while delivering the Independence Day address at Chhatrasal Stadium.

Questioning whether the people of Delhi were “less patriotic”, “half citizens”, or paid “less tax”, Kejriwal underlined he cannot fathom why democratic rights were being “taken away”.

This is the second time within three days that the Delhi CM has raised his political offensive against the Centre over full statehood, following the August 4 Delhi high court verdict which ruled that Delhi, essentially, was a union territory and the lieutenant governor was its real ‘administrator’. The L-G was bound to work as per the aid and advice of the Delhi Cabinet, as is the case in all other states, the HC ruled.

The AAP national convener said that the residents of Delhi were being made to feel that the value of their votes was less as compared to other states where electors have the “right to choose governments with powers”.

“Under the Government of India Act 1935, people had right to choose their representatives, but Britishers had powers to run the government. At present, the Centre has established a similar system in Delhi. People can select their representative, MLA, minister and chief minister. They can form government but they don’t have the power to govern with full rights,” he said.

“Are we half citizens? Are we less patriotic? Do we pay less tax? I can’t understand as to why the democratic rights are being taken away from the people of Delhi,” he added.

The chief minister, however, underlined that despite all limitations and “obstacles created by the Centre”, the Delhi government has performed and some of its work is “being talked about across the world”.

“The biggest achievement of Delhi has been that it has prepared people of Delhi (for future), by giving them education, better health and skill development,” he said, adding that two sectors where the government’s performance has been outstanding are education and health.