Almost all political parties of the South — barring the YSRCP — opposed the Bill in the Upper House on Monday.
P Chidambaram. (Wikimedia Commons)
Members of parliament from the Opposition front INDIA, especially from the South, made a strong pitch against the Delhi Ordinance Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, 7 August, though by the end of the day the House passed what is formally known as the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, by a 131 to 102 vote margin.
Former finance minister P Chidambaram of the Congress and the DMK’s Tiruchi N Siva spearheaded the attack, saying that the Bill violated the spirit of the Constitution. Almost all major political parties from South India opposed the Bill.
The YSRCP, with nine MPs in House, however, backed the Bill. V Vijaysai Reddy of the Andhra Pradesh party launched a broadside against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which led to an uproar in the Upper House for some time.
Chidambaram observed that passing the Delhi Ordinance Bill would cause a breakdown of the constitutional machinery. “We are a council of states. We are duty-bound to protect the rights of states and, rights of the Union Territories,” the senior Congress leader told the Rajya Sabha.
“Delhi has, according to the figures I sourced today, 3.17 crore people. They elected a government to govern them, to make decisions on their behalf. The magic words in the Constitution are ‘there shall be a Council of Ministers with the chief minister at its head to aid and advise the Lieutenant Governor’,” Chidambaram, the deputy leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, pointed out.
He added that the phrase “aid and advice” was not about friendly advice.
“Aid and advice have a long constitutional history. Aid and advice means the real power is in the Council of Ministers. The Lieutenant Governor exercises formal power. The real power is with the ministers of the government,” he said.
“What we are doing today is subverting the three magical words: Aid and advice. Now people are watching us. Is there a merit in the clause of the Bill? What we are doing today is breaking down the constitutional machinery by passing this Bill. The BJP government doesn’t even have the moral authority to pass this Bill. The BJP has not won an election in Delhi for the past 25 years. What moral right do you (BJP) have to speak for the people,” he asked.
DMK member Tiruchi Siva noted that the Bill was an attempt to override a Supreme Court judgement.
“The Bill is an attempt to override the Supreme Court judgement and the powers of the state government. The people hold the legislators accountable. Legislators hold the government accountable, and the government holds the officers accountable,” he said.
“But now the officers are not under the control of the elected government. The established triple chain of accountability is broken by the way of this Bill. Delhi has been the nucleus of power. Now the chief minister will lose his powers over running the administration,” Siva said.
Tiruchy Siva. (Facebook)
“Earlier, the Cabinet would have decided on matters about the capital. Now, after this Bill, the secretary will overlook the decision of the Cabinet, which is a threat to democracy. The ministership will become redundant. A secretary-level officer can halt the decision of a minister and override the decision made,” he pointed out.
The DMK leader said that, earlier, the statutory authorities of Delhi were appointed by the Lieutenant Governor on the advice of the government. After this Bill, the Governor would be the sole appointing authority.
“In the democratic process, one day, they (BJP) will be out of power and INDIA will restore the autonomy of Delhi,” he added, referring to the Opposition bloc, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.
However, supporting the Bill, Vijaysai Reddy of the YSRCP outlined that it was both constitutionally valid and in line with the Supreme Court judgement. He said that the Opposition had failed to prove otherwise. Instead, they have taken to finger-pointing and dirty politics in an attempt to mislead the people, he said.
“The entire crux of this Bill has to be understood in light of the provisions of Article 239AA of the Constitution. Article 239AA, clause (3), subclause (a) states that the Delhi Legislature has the power to make laws concerning any of the matters in the State List or Concurrent List (except public order, land, and police),” the YSRCP leader said.
“But Article 239AA, clause (3), subclause (b) also states that Parliament shall have the power to make laws concerning any matter for Delhi. Additionally, Article 239AA, clause (3), subclause (c) states that in the event of any clash between a law made by the Delhi Legislature and Parliament, the law made by Parliament shall prevail. The Constitution provides Parliament with an upper hand when it comes to making laws for Delhi,” he said.
Being the national capital, Delhi belonged to the entire nation. Any decision taken in Delhi would impact not just the residents of Delhi but the entire population of the country, he added, before training his guns on AAP member Raghav Chadha.
“There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this Bill. But this controversy has been created by Opposition parties in an attempt to mislead the public for their selfish political gains. In fact, a member of this August House has pointed fingers at non-NDA (National Democratic Alliance) parties that are extending their support for this Bill,” Vijaysai Reddy said.
“He also said that certain non-NDA parties are under ‘compulsion and coercion’ to support this, Bill. I would like to remind the Hon. Member that ‘a fire does not start without fuel’. We all know the dirty politics that has been fuelling the fire in Delhi,” he argued.
The YRSCP leader then advised Chadha not to play with fire because it might even engulf him.
“It is clear that if this Bill is passed, the ‘Absolute Anarchy Party’ Thanashahi party can no longer use Delhi for its selfish and ulterior motives. This finger-pointing is nothing but a distraction. The support of the non-NDA parties for this Bill does not come not from any ‘compulsion and coercion’. We support this Bill only because it will save Delhi from previous years of maladministration,” he said.
“We are not here to debate whether this Bill is ‘politically correct’. We are here to debate whether this Bill is ‘constitutionally valid’ and ‘in line with the Supreme Court judgement’. On these two counts, this Bill is legally correct. Hence, we support the Bill,” Vijaysai Reddy said.
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