Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while addressing members of the Rajya Sabha on the control of services in Delhi, asked the opposition parties to speak on the powers of the Centre with regard to governing the Union Territories.
Now, with regard to the National Capital Region of Delhi, the Union Government enjoys special powers. Delhi cannot be compared with other states. The opposition parties, in spite of knowing it well, have opposed the Government of National Capital Territory (Amendment) Bill 2023 to put the Narendra Modi-led BJP government in a tight spot and to scout for alliance with other parties.
In fact, several Congress leaders appreciated the Centre for promulgating the ordinance on Delhi and introducing the amendment Bill. Delhi Congress leader and former Union Minister Ajay Maken made it clear that supporting the Delhi ordinance was against the wishes of the architects of the nation’s Constitution.
In this context, he recalled how leaders of the ilk of Babasaheb Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Sastry and PV Narasimha Rao advocated only limited powers to the Delhi government. Why Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal should enjoy the powers which his predecessors like Sheela Dixit, Madanlal Khurana, Saheb Singh Verma and Sushma Swaraj could not enjoy, he sought to know.
However, former MP and Congress leader Sandeep Dixit said that it was not fair to oppose the Bill. He recalled how his mother Shiela Dixit had severely assailed Arvind Kejriwal for locking horns with the Delhi Lieutenant Governor. She pointed out that during 1998 and 2013, she had never crossed swords with the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.
After coming to power in 2013, Arvind Kejriwal started clashing with the incumbent Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, whoever it be. In fact, three Lieutenant Governors have changed. The Kejriwal government was in power for only 49 days when Najib Jung was the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi in 2013. During the brief period too, Kejriwal staged protest near the Rail Bhavan and clashed with the police. Former President Pranab Mukherjee had also advised Kejriwal that it was not fair on his part to function so as to diminish the stature of his Chief Minister post. But there was no change in the attitude of Kejriwal even after being voted to power in 2015. He insisted that all files related to land, police, and law and order be first sent to him. The Lieutenant Governor convinced Kejriwal that it was not feasible as these subjects come under the purview of the Centre.
Kejriwal later approached the Delhi High Court seeking clarifications on his constitutional powers. The Court has since made it clear that the Lieutenant Governor enjoys powers. Later, the Delhi Chief Minister moved the Supreme Court unsuccessfully. The apex court also showed him his constitutional limitations.
When former Home Secretary Anil Byjal was the Delhi Lieutenant Governor, Kejriwal tried to function as he liked. At the official residence of the Delhi CM, AAP MLAs slapped Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash. When there was shortage of oxygen during the Covid-19 pandemic situation, Lieutenant Governor ordered a probe. But Kejriwal resorted to showering abuses on him. During May last, Vinay Kumar Saxena became Delhi Lieutenant Governor. With this, Kejriwal grew more impatient. He wrote letters addressing the Lieutenant Governor stating that it was ultra vires the powers of the Lieutenant Government when he spoke to the Delhi Jal Board on the water shortage problem, when the LG ordered anti-corruption bureau probe on hospitals’ construction and when he asked the civic body to improve its property tax collections.
Kejriwal faced a piquant situation when corruption charges against his Cabinet colleagues came to light. Kejriwal had floated an NGO called India Against Corruption and fought against corruption in the country. But upon being voted to power, he forgot his values. Several party leaders left the party and severely criticised him for his transformation. In 2018, the CAG indicted the Kejriwal government for not showing accounts for Rs 7,270 crore and it tantamount to practising corruption. The Central Board of Direct Taxes revealed that the AAP mobilised election funds illegally and swallowed the funds, leading to the Election Commission serving notices on the AAP. When IT raids were carried out on the premises of several AAP MLAs, huge unaccounted money came to light. The Kejriwal government is facing a Rs 2,000-crore scandal in construction of additional classrooms in government schools in Delhi. The AAP government swallowed huge amount of funds even in bus deals. Sting operations carried out by media exposed how huge amount changed hands in MCD ticket sales.
When the LG ordered CBI probe into the liquor scandal in the National Capital Region, Kejriwal developed cold feet. The right-hand man of Kejriwal and Minister in Delhi Cabinet Satyendra Jain was put behind the bars in money laundering case. Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia has been cooling his heels behind the bars in the liquor scam case that shook the nation.
Why did Kejriwal, who claims to head a party of the common man, build his bungalow spending hundreds of crores of public funds? Why should the Kejriwal government incur expenditure running into hundreds of crores of rupees for the sake publicity alone? Why did Kejriwal pay money to prevent recovery of Rs 21,000 crore, owed to the BSES and BYPL, from a company? Why is it that the CAG reports have not been presented in Delhi Assembly for the past two years?
The Centre was forced to promulgate an Ordinance to prevent the government from resorting to large-scale corruption in a centrally administered area and to regulate the administrative services in Delhi. A three-member National Services Authority was constituted to prevent haphazard transfers of officials and postings. The authority would be headed by the Chief Minister and would have two senior officials. What is wrong in it?
In fact, piloting the amendment bill is not wrong. Yet all the corrupt parties are joining hands to support one another. It is not known to them why the Delhi Government, which ran on sound lines from 1993 to 2013, is not facing problems. When the BJP piloted the Bill in Parliament, the opposition parties raised a hue and cry over the Manipur violence, forgot their priority and joined their ranks to oppose the Bill. By virtue of their attitude, nine crucial bills had to be passed without any discussion on them. Who is butchering democracy in Parliament?
