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Govt tables Delhi services bill in LS; 'murder of democracy' says oppn; Shah terms objections 'politically motivated'

Govt tables Delhi services bill in LS; 'murder of democracy' says oppn; Shah terms objections 'politically motivated'

New Delhi: The Union government on Tuesday filed a controversial bill in Lok Sabha to replace the Delhi services order, drawing heated protests from opposition members who called it a "murder of democracy" and prompting a reaction of "politically motivated" insult from Home Minister Amit Shah.

The Delhi Lieutenant Governor's right of veto over the transfer and posting of city government officials is one provision in the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 that will increase the central government's authority in Delhi. The bill, introduced by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, is an effort to roll back the Supreme Court's May decision, which handed the Delhi government authority over administrative services. It was Rai who said that he was "tabling the Bill on behalf of Shah." Trinamool member Saugata Ray claimed the Bill was introduced to reverse a Supreme Court order that gave the Delhi government the power to transfer and appoint Group-A officers in the national capital, and Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury called the bill a "outrageous infringement" of the Delhi government's powers.

In order to establish a body with the power to transfer and post Group-A personnel in Delhi, the Central Government issued the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023 on May 19.

The Supreme Court declared on May 11 that the Delhi Government had jurisdiction over'services' in the National Capital Territory, excluding subjects relating to public order, police, and land, because the true power of administration must rest with the elected arm of government.

N K Premachandran of the RSP and Shashi Tharoor of the Congress have questioned the government's legislative ability by opposing the introduction of the Bill to replace the ordinance.

I have serious doubts about the government's ability to pass legislation after seeing this bill. This violates the spirit of federalism enshrined in the Indian Constitution. If Delhi's elected government can't rein in the bureaucracy, "there won't be a government in Delhi," as Premachandran put it.

Shah said this as opposition leaders stormed the well, tearing papers and raising objections to the Bill. "Our Constitution allows the Parliament to make laws for Delhi," he added. Any objection to this law is purely based on partisanship and has nothing to do with the Constitution. The opposition's invocation of parliamentary procedure is completely unnecessary. According to Shah, the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD) falls under Parliament's legislative authority thanks to Article 239AA of the Constitution.

There is a power struggle going on between the central government and the AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal in the National Capital Territory (NCT).

Meanwhile, the Biju Janata Dal has given the treasury benches, particularly in the Rajya Sabha, a boost by endorsing the Delhi services bill.

To the opposition's efforts to cobble together a majority in the Rajya Sabha where the treasury benches lack a majority on their own, the BJD is the second party after the YSR Congress to announce support to the Centre on the Delhi services bill.

Raghav Chadha, a member of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Rajya Sabha, has said that the bill is even more detrimental to "our democracy, the Constitution, and the people of Delhi" than the previous ordinance.

He called the bill the "most undemocratic, illegal piece of paper ever tabled in Parliament," claiming it will replace Delhi's elected government with a "babucracy" and give the Lt. Governor absolute power.

Sushil Kumar Rinku, the sole Lok Sabha representative for the Aam Aadmi Party, was overheard protesting to the Speaker that he had not been given an opportunity to speak on the Bill as members of the Congress, Trinamool Congress, DMK, BJD, and AIMIM debated it.

"I did not get a chance to explain myself...This is a crime against democracy.As anti-government protesters chanted chants, "You are insulting Bhim Rao Ambedkar," Rinku yelled.

Papers were thrown at the Chair by Rinku and Congress member T N Prathapan.

In the midst of the uproar, Speaker Om Birla assured everyone that they would each have an opportunity to speak and criticised the opposition members for their antics.

This is not acceptable behaviour. The entire nation is watching, he declared. Since the start of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, the Opposition has been raising objections over the matter.

The NDA has more than enough votes in the lower house, the Lok Sabha, to pass the law on its own; in the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, the BJD, the YSR Congress, and a few nominated and independent members can help it reach over the 50% threshold needed for passage. There are 100 Upper House Representatives for the ruling NDA alone.

A senior lawmaker has stated that around 109 MPs, including the entire INDIA opposition caucus of 26 members and several Independents like Kapil Sibal, will vote against the bill.

Even if all 238 current members vote that day, this number is still shy of the midway mark of 120. There are now a few seats open in the House, which brings the total to 243.

There are at least 18 opposition parties represented in the Rajya Sabha, which has 101 members in total. It's expected that the BRS (with its seven members) will join this group in opposing the bill.

All of the important parts of the ordinance are included in the Bill, along with some new measures. While the Central government has precedence over the Delhi government when it comes to the recruitment of officers belonging to the All India Services and the DANICS, this clause of the ordinance, which prevented the state assembly from implementing any law on "services," is not mentioned in the Bill. The obligation that the government of Delhi provide annual reports to the federal government was also eliminated by the Bill, as it was imposed by the ordinance. —Inputs from Agencies

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