With the objective of giving a proper “interpretation” of a Supreme Court ruling, the government on Monday introduced a Bill in Lok Sabha that seeks to define certain role and powers of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.
Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy introduced the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021. According to proposed amendments, Section 21 of the Act~ dealing with restrictions on laws passed by legislative assembly with respect to certain matters ~ is sought to be revised to clarify that the expression ‘government’ referred to in any law to be made by the legislative assembly shall mean the ‘Lieutenant Governor’.
A sub-section shall be inserted to this effect in Section 21. In section 24 of the principal Act~ which requires a Bill passed by the Delhi legislative assembly to be presented to the LG who may assent, withhold or reserve it for consideration of the President — an additional clause will be inserted to cover any of the matters that fall outside the purview of the powers conferred on the legislative assembly.
In Section 33 of the principal Act, in sub-section (1) after the words “conduct of its business”, the words “which shall not be inconsistent with the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in House of People” shall be inserted.
Also, in the proviso, for the words “Provided that”, the following shall be substituted, “Provided that the Legislative Assembly shall not make any rule to enable itself or its Committees to consider the matters of day-to-day administration of the Capital or conduct inquiries in relation to the administrative decisions, and any of the rule made in contravention of this proviso, before the commencement of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021, shall be void”.
~With inputs from PTI~