New Delhi: A Bill to replace the Delhi services ordinance was passed in the Lok Sabha Thursday amid sharp exchanges, as Union Home Minister Amit Shah took potshots at the opposition saying that the compulsions of “saving their alliance” brought the opponents of the Bill together.
Shah, who initiated discussions on the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, stressed that not only does Parliament enjoy “full rights” to legislate on any matter concerning Delhi, the ordinance was necessitated by the fact that “rules were being flouted” by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.
The Opposition, which walked out the Lok Sabha before the Bill was voted upon, accused the Modi government of subverting democratic principles by bringing the Bill. However, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) spoke in favour of the Bill, indicating that it will have a smooth passage in the Rajya Sabha, where the government does not enjoy a numerical majority.
During voting on the Bill, AAP’s lone Lok Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Rinku, who represents Jalandhar, came to the Well of the House and tore up papers, resulting in suspension for the rest of the session.
Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which had quit the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2020 over the now withdrawn central farm laws, termed the Bill as “farce”, but not before pointing out that the AAP and the Congress were equally culpable in “violating” the norms of democratic governance in Punjab.
In his response, Shah stung the Opposition saying had it been worried about the health of the country’s democracy, its members would not have remained absent when “nine other crucial Bills were passed during the ongoing session”.
“I listened to all the 26 MPs who spoke on the Bill. But I have a simple question for my opposition friends. They stayed away when nine other Bills were passed. They insisted on the PM’s statement on (Manipur). But what happened today? What changed? The fact is they are not worried about democracy, country, or the people of this country. All they are worried about is saving their alliance,” Shah said, in an apparent reference to the newly-minted INDIA coalition.
Shah went on to point out the state-level contradictions in the opposition alliance, as he questioned the JD(U) joining hands with the RJD, the Shiv Sena (UBT) allying with the Congress, and the understanding between the Congress with the Left and the TMC at the national level despite sharp differences in Kerala and West Bengal.
“Rajiv Ranjan Singh (JD(U) MP) said we should have some shame (lok laaj). You are sitting with those who are accused of fodder scam. The JD(U) was born to oppose the RJD. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Congress MP) keeps questioning Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, but the Congress and TMC sit together in the Parliament…” Shah said.
Making a string of allegations against the AAP, Shah said that the opposition should reconsider its position on the GNCTD (Amendment) Bill.
“The first thing they (AAP) did after the Supreme Court verdict on services came was to take control of the vigilance department. They did not show interest in education, health, or infrastructure. They targeted vigilance first as it had files on their excise policy, the constriction of the chief minister’s sprawling bungalow or ‘sheesh mahal’, details on government funds spent on party activities, and on their feedback unit to snoop on political opponents,” Shah alleged.
Shah said by showing up in the House on Thursday, the opposition has “exposed” its “double standards” to the people of India. “You have come here to ensure that Kejriwal’s party, which is smaller than a betel nut, does not quit the alliance.”
The home minister added the government was ready to hold a lengthy discussion on Manipur, indicating that the Centre was not in a mood to accede to the Opposition’s demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi respond to a debate on the issue.
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Opposition’s spirited attack
Meanwhile, after Shah opened the debate saying that the “interest of the nation should not be sacrificed at the altar of alliance” and asserting that Modi’s return to power was a “foregone conclusion”, the opposition sought to corner the government by highlighting its implications on the federal structure.
Chowdhury, the Congress’ leader in the Lok Sabha, said Article 239AA, which carves out a special status for Delhi as a Union Territory with a legislative assembly, “doesn’t give power to Parliament to hand over entire control of the elected government of Delhi to the Lt Governor”.
Supriya Sule of the NCP-Sharad Pawar faction said the BJP should clarify if it was “lying” when it promised statehood for Delhi in its poll manifestos.
BJP’s Manoj Tiwari, the MP from North East Delhi, later claimed that since 2013, the BJP had made no such promise. To be sure, the BJP did promise a full statehood for Delhi during the 2013 assembly polls, and the 2014 general election.
“Were you lying in the manifesto or lying in Parliament?” Sule asked.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said Shah invoked Nehru’s position against statehood to Delhi in his speech. but “the truth is times change and with that facts change”.
“In those days, there were no elected representatives for Delhi. In any case, you oppose everything Nehru stood for, then why not this?” Tharoor asked in jest. He underlined that the government was attempting to amend the Constitution through the Bill, which is not a Constitutional Amendment Bill.
The GNCTD (Amendment) Bill effectively amends the Constitution, Tharoor said, because it adds services to the list of subjects to the range of subjects that the Delhi assembly cannot legislate upon. Under the prevailing constitutional scheme of things, the Delhi assembly cannot legislate on land, public order and police.
Rajiv Ranjan Singh of JD(U) said Shah was nobody to sit on judgment on whether the AAP government was performing or not. “You (BJP) have been reduced to three seats (in 2015). You have also lost the MCD. Who are you to decide whether the government of Delhi is delivering or not?”
Meanwhile, BJD’s Pinaki Mishra said the Naveen Patnaik-led party’s endorsement of the Bill should not be read as its support to the BJP.
“We fight a very vigorous fight with the BJP at the ground level. They are our principal opposition party. We are equidistant from both the BJP and the Congress. The reason we support this is that we believe that Parliament is empowered to enact this legislation…The Supreme Court will decide whether it is a good or bad law,” Mishra said, adding that the BJD will also clarify why it feels the no-confidence motion is “unwarranted”.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi said the Bill amounted to a “constitutional fraud” and was “patently absurd and horrible”, adding that even the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had brought a Bill to grant statehood to Delhi.
The Hyderabad MP also took a swipe at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, reminding him of the AAP’s support to the abrogation of Article 370. “What goes around, comes around, you cannot cry victim now,” he said, adding that Kejriwal shares ideological affinity with the BJP. “What happened now? He is still your man,” Owaisi said, addressing the BJP MPs.
Endorsing the GNCTD (Amendment) Bill, YSRCP’s P. V. Midhun Reddy ended on an amusing note. “I also have a request sir, this is a unique Bill, and I hope that this Bill is not replicated for the other states,” Reddy said, drawing chuckles from the members.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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