New Delhi:
Delhi Assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution holding as “illegal” Centre’s notification giving more powers to the Lt Governor with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal blasting the Modi government, terming its move as a prelude to pushing the country towards “dictatorship”.
In the resolution, the Assembly called the Home Ministry’s notification an attempt to “encroach upon” the legislative powers of the House conferred by the Constitution and said it was “completely unconstitutional, illegal and invalid”.
Just before the House adopted the resolution, Kejriwal in his fiery address lambasted Lt Governor Najeeb Jung who he said was “dancing to the tune” of the Centre and “deliberately” trying to create obstacles for the AAP government.
“Whatever is happening in Delhi is dangerous. This is the Delhi experiment of the BJP-led Centre. One by one, this experiment would be implemented in every non-BJP state. They want to take the country towards dictatorship. I appeal to all non-BJP chief ministers to come together and unite on this issue,” he said.
Kejriwal also alleged that slums across Delhi are being demolished at the instructions of Jung so that people get agitated against the AAP government.
The resolution said the Ministry of Home Affairs issued the notification without having any jurisdiction to do so. The special two-day session which concluded today was called to discuss the notification. The three BJP MLAs staged a walkout just before the resolution was adopted.
“This house finds this act of Ministry of Home Affairs as an attempt on the part of the central government, to encroach upon the legislative powers of this august house conferred by the Constitution, in a completely unconstitutional and illegal manner, by bypassing the Parliament and thereby even grabbing the powers of the Parliament itself,” it said.
In the resolution, the House also urged President Pranab Mukherjee to invoke his powers under Article 143 of Constitution and to make a reference to the Supreme Court to clearly define the powers and responsibilities of the Delhi government, the LG and the central government with respect to Legislative and Executive functions of National Capital Territory of Delhi.
The House also “expected” the officers and employees of the city government to follow the orders related to work allotment without any fear.
In his address, Kejriwal said the notification granting more powers to the LG in appointments of bureaucrats as well as matters relating to police and public order was issued considering “political” calculations as the Centre wanted to defame the AAP government.
“This is not a constitutional issue as BJP presidentyesterday said. This is a political issue. The Centre is trying to fail the AAP government. But we will continue our fight,” Kejriwal said adding he is going to write to all chief ministers on the issue.
In the notification, the Centre gave absolute powers to the LG in appointment of bureaucrats while also clarifying that he need not “consult” the chief minister on subjects like police and public order.
The ACB of the Delhi government has also been barred from registering any case against officers and political functionaries of the central government.
However, the Delhi High Court yesterday ruled that the ACB has the authority to probe central government officials, including Delhi Police personnel.
Challenging the legality of the MHA notification, Kejriwal said the Centre was trying to “amend” the Constitution through a notification that amounted to violating the powers of the Parliament.
Referring to the arrest of a policeman on charges of corruption, he said the Home Ministry was going to the extent of approaching the Supreme Court for getting bail for him.
“Why is the Home Ministry trying to save him? The Centre has given a licence to corruption and working towards saving corrupt officials. They have conspired a lot. They should stop conspiring against us,” he said.
In a stinging attack on Lt Governor Jung, Kejriwal accused him of trying to appease the Centre by working against the Delhi government as he knew that otherwise he will be removed.
“Why was the LG not removed because the BJP wants such governors who make the life of all non-BJP chief ministers hell,” he said, adding “the LG was only interested in matters of transfers and postings and not on important issues like power and water.”
In a sarcastic note, he said, “They did not even have to change the Delhi LG as he is doing rather good work. Working against the chief minister makes his position more secure.”
The chief minister said preparations were complete to put the Anti-Corruption Branch of Delhi government under the LG which he said was “scuttled” by the Delhi High Court on Monday.
“After the election I met the Prime Minister. I told him that we cannot do anything without your cooperation. We do not want to fight. We want to work together but we have a capacity to counter such designs,” he said.
Instead of “celebrating” the “drastic reduction” of corruption in Delhi, Kejriwal said the Centre was trying to “kill its Anti-Corruption Bureau and was trying to save the skin of corrupt officials. The Prime Minister should have called and praised us for reducing the corruption.”
Earlier in the day, Delhi Assembly witnessed unruly scenes as AAP MLA Mahendra Goyal tore a copy of the MHA notification.
Kejriwal said the resolution passed in the House will be sent to the President, the Home Ministry, the LG and all the MPs.
