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Delhi services tussle: Cabinet nod for bill to replace ordinance
The Union cabinet has cleared the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
The Union cabinet on Tuesday cleared the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, to replace, during the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, an ordinance that hands control of the national capital’s bureaucratic machinery to the Centre. Officials aware of the matter indicated that the bill will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha in the coming week.
Once tabled, the bill is likely to be fiercely opposed by the Opposition’s Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) grouping, though the Centre has enough numbers in both houses for the bill to sail through.
The legislation will replace the ordinance promulgated by the President on May 19 to allow the Centre 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 bill is being brought as a result of the pronouncement of the order of the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court in which the legislative and executive power over “services” shall vest with the GNCTD. The conclusions drawn in Constitution bench pronouncement pose certain challenges to the smooth administration of GNCTD which need to be addressed through appropriate legal interventions,” the government said in a circular issued by the Lok Sabha before the Monsoon session of Parliament.
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Rajya Sabha has already allotted more than four hours to discuss the bill.
Government officials indicated that if the bill is brought in this session, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be ready to seek the approval of the House even amid the Opposition’s fierce protests over the situation in Manipur, which has been torn by communal strife for several months.
The ordinance reignited a heated tussle between the elected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the centrally appointed lieutenant governor over control of the national capital.
AAP spokespersons did not respond to requests for comment seeking comment on the cabinet clearing the Bill. However, the Delhi government has called the “illegal”, “unconstitutional” and a “black law”. Senior AAP leaders, including party chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, have over the past few weeks criss-crossed the country to rally support against the ordinance. In fact, the party hinged its entry into the INDIA grouping on the Congress taking a stand on the ordinance.
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Meanwhile, the logjam between the Centre and Opposition has stalled Parliament since the ongoing session began on Thursday, with constituents of the INDIA grouping demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement on the Manipur violence inside the House.
In the Rajya Sabha, AAP leader Sanjay Singh was on Monday suspended for the rest of the Monsoon session for “unruly behaviour”.
On July 20, the Supreme Court, on a petition filed by the Delhi government, referred to a Constitution bench of five judges the Delhi government’s challenge to the 2023 Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Ordinance, giving the Centre control over the state’s bureaucracy. To be sure, the top court’s decision to have the legality of the ordinance tested by a Constitution bench has no bearing on the introduction or passage of the ordinance in Parliament as a legislation.
