New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah Thursday mounted a strong defence of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, saying that the “interest of the nation should not be sacrificed at the altar of alliance”, asserting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s return to power in 2024 was a “foregone conclusion”.
Initiating a discussion on the bill, which seeks to replace the NCT of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance 2023, in Lok Sabha, Shah needled the Congress, quoting Jawaharlal Nehru’s arguments made in the Constituent Assembly against the idea of granting statehood to Delhi.
He also launched a blistering attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which governs Delhi, saying its opposition to the bill stems from its “need to hide the truth of the corruption behind the bungalow”, alluding to the row over the construction of a sprawling new official residence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
“The problem is not the transfer and postings. Rather it is about hiding the truth about the bungalow, and the acts of corruption, by getting the vigilance (department) under their (AAP) control,” Shah said.
The ordinance, promulgated on 19 May, created a new statutory authority — headed by the Delhi CM and two IAS officers — to decide all matters related to the transfer and posting of civil servants in the national capital by majority of votes. It became a huge flashpoint between the AAP-led Delhi government and the BJP-led Centre, with Kejriwal trying to muster support among the opposition camp to vote against the Bill. The Congress and Trinamool Congress are among the opposition parties that have publicly opposed the ordinance.
The Opposition says that the ordinance effectively nullified an 11 May Supreme Court judgment giving the Delhi government greater legislative and administrative control over “services”. Delhi is a Union territory with a legislative assembly, which is an outcome of the 69th Constitutional Amendment Act, through which Articles 239AA and 239BB were introduced.
Shah claimed that the view that the bill negates the SC judgment was an outcome of “selective reading” of the court’s ruling. Under Article 239AA(3)(b), the Parliament has power to legislate on any matter for Delhi, including on all state and concurrent list subjects, he added.
“Some argued that the bill violates the SC order. I would like to tell them that you have read out the portion (of the SC order) that suited you. When you quote the order, you need to read the entire judgment transparently. The bill refers to paras 86, 95 and and particularly 164 f of the SC order that clearly state that the Parliament, under Article 239AA, has a right to legislate on any matter concerning Delhi,” Shah said.
According to para 164 f of the order of the apex court, “the executive power of NCTD (National Capital Territory of Delhi) with respect to entries in List II (state) and List III (concurrent) shall be subject to the executive power expressly conferred upon the Union by the Constitution or by a law enacted by Parliament”.
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‘Once bill is cleared, AAP won’t remain part of any Oppn alliance’
Shah’s primary thrust, however, was political, as he singled out the AAP as a force that “does not seek to serve the country, but only indulge in quarrels”. He said that between 1993 and 2015, the BJP and the Congress governed Delhi alternatively, without causing any Centre-state friction.
“In 2015, the situation changed here and a party formed a government which does not seek to serve the country, but indulge in squabbles only,” said the home minister. While the AAP, an offshoot of the India Against Corruption movement, had taken the Congress’s help to form a short-lived government in 2013, it attained majority for the first time in 2015, a feat which it repeated in 2020.
Amit Shah also invoked the words of Nehru to make his case, referring to the Congress stalwart’s opposition to the recommendations of the Pattabhi Sitaramayya Committee, which was formed in 1947 to examine the administrative structures of the Chief Commissioner’s Provinces that included Delhi.
Shah quoted Nehru’s statement made in the Constituent Assembly that “ever since the committee was appointed the world has changed, India has changed and Delhi has changed vitally”. Shah said that Sardar Patel, C. Rajagopalachari and B.R. Ambedkar also opposed the idea of statehood to Delhi.
The home minister stressed that the Congress, particularly, should keep this fact in mind, adding that once the bill is cleared by the House, the AAP will not remain a part of any opposition alliance. And in any case, the efforts to forge an alliance should not inform a party’s position on the bill, he added.
“There are many ways to form an alliance. But, bills and laws are for the country’s good. So supporting and opposing them should be done keeping the country’s and Delhi’s interests in mind. It should not be the line of thinking that we will support (the AAP) for the sake of alliance no matter how much corruption they indulge in, or how many crores are spent to build their CM’s bungalow,” Shah said.
He went on to say: “I appeal to the opposition to think of Delhi, not the alliance which will not help. Even after the alliance, Modi will return as the PM with full majority. So do not sacrifice the interest of people at the altar of alliance. The people of this country are watching. You are sitting there (opposition benches) because of the way the UPA had run the country for 10 years, and its Rs 12 crore corruption.”
The home minister however did not name the opposition’s INDIA alliance — formed last month after two rounds of meetings in Patna and Bengaluru — in his speech.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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