E-Paper
'Centre wants to govern Delhi by proxy': Mamata Banerjee supports Kejriwal over NCT bill
"I stand in full solidarity with you in your principled opposition to Centre's devious, anti-democratic and anti-constitution move to disempower Delhi government and reduce status of Delhi CM to a subordinate to the Lieutenant Governor," Banerjee said in her letter.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote a letter to her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, supporting him over the opposition to National Capital Territory (NCT) bill introduced by the Centre recently in Parliament. Banerjee said the Centre's move was "devious, anti-democratic and anti-constitution".
"I stand in full solidarity with you in your principled opposition to Centre's devious, anti-democratic and anti-constitution move to disempower Delhi government and reduce status of Delhi CM to a subordinate to the Lieutenant Governor," Banerjee said in her letter.
On Monday, the Centre tabled the 'Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in Parliament that seeks to give overarching powers over Delhi’s daily functions to the Centre-appointed Lieutenant Governor. The bill mandates that 'government' referred to in any law passed by the legislative assembly would directly mean the L-G and not the government. It also makes it mandatory for the city government to seek the L-G’s opinion before any executive action.
Since its introduction in the lower house of Parliament or Lok Sabha, the bill sparked major protests from the Delhi government. It also revived the old-running power tussle between the Centre and the Delhi government over the control of the national capital. Kejriwal says that the Centre's legislation seeks to drastically curtail the powers of an elected city government. But the Centre says that the bill will "promote harmonious relations between the legislature and the executive, and further define the responsibilities of the elected government and the lieutenant governor, in line with the constitutional scheme of governance of National Capital Territory of Delhi, as interpreted by the Hon’ble Supreme Court." The Centre's stand was laid out in a statement attached with the draft legislation, attributed to Union home minister Amit Shah.
The bill is the "surgical strike on the federal structure of the Indian Republic," said Banerjee in the letter. The bill "also makes a mockery of the letter and spirit of the democracy by disempowering the Delhi government," she added.
Underlining the 2018 verdict of the Supreme Court, the West Bengal chief minister pointed out that "the bill violates the unambiguous verdict... which upheld the pre-eminence of Delhi's elected government in all matters other than police, public order and land".
She further sharpened her attack against the BJP government and said, "It is evident to all that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have not been able to stomach the humiliating defeat the BJP suffered at the hands of the Aam Aadmi Party in both 2014 and 2019 assembly elections."
"I am not at all surprised by the BJP's move to strip away the legitimate powers of the Delhi Government," she also said in the letter. "They want to govern Delhi by proxy, which is the real purpose of the proposed amendments to the GNCTD Act," Banerjee added.
The letter comes as Banerjee is engaged in a fierce battle in West Bengal with the BJP ahead of the assembly elections in the state.
