A day after Parliament passed the controversial Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that gives sweeping powers to the Delhi Lieutenant Governor vis-avis the elected government, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia slammed the Narendra Modi-led Centre over the legislation, alleging that it is feeling “insecure” as CM Arvind Kejriwal is “emerging as an alternative to Prime Minister Modi”.
Sisodia asserted that the AAP-led Delhi dispensation was taking legal opinion on the issue to decide the future course of its action.
“The GNCTD Bill passed by the Narendra Modi government reflects the deep insecurities of the PM and the BJP. We know that at present, the nation and the world is speaking of the Arvind Kejriwal model of governance and its diverse schemes,” Sisodia told a press conference here.
People have begun to rely on the Kejriwal model of governance and feel that they have a choice to vote for someone who actually works for them, he said.
“This is exactly what is making the BJP-led central government insecure that Kejriwal is emerging as an alternative to Modiji,” Sisodia said.
“Our work has yielded positive results, the impact can be seen, which has led to the entire nation lauding the Kejriwal government. Today, citizens of other states are also imploring their governments to provide basic facilities like free and 24×7 electricity. People want free and excellent education, they want hospitals with proper facilities,” he added.
The Rajya Sabha last night passed the GNCTD (Amendment) Bill, 2021 despite uproar and walkout by the Opposition members. The Bill, commonly known as the NCT Bill, was passed by the Lok Sabha on 22 March.
The controversial legislation seeks to give more powers to the Delhi LG — the Centre’s representative in Delhi, who reports to the Union home ministry ~ compared to the elected government and will make it mandatory for the Delhi government to take the opinion of the LG before taking any executive action, a move that the Delhi government says will undermine the people’s mandate and the elected government of the national capital.
Apart from this, the Bill also makes it clear that the “government” in Delhi means the “Lieutenant Governor”.
Soon after its passage in the Upper House last night, the Delhi CM had said it was a “sad day for Indian democracy”. The AAP supremo Kejriwal also asserted that their struggle to restore power back to the people will continue unabated.
Despite the Opposition’s strong demand for its Select Committee scrutiny, and walk-outs by several parties, the Rajya Sabha last night passed the GNCTD Amendment Bill, which “enhances” powers of the LG in Delhi’s governance.
In his hard-hitting reaction, Kejriwal, in a Twitter post, had then said: “RS passes GNCTD amendment Bill. Sad day for Indian democracy. We will continue our struggle to restore power back to people. Whatever be the obstacles, we will continue doing good work. Work will neither stop nor slow down.”
~With inputs from PTI~