The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which proposes to merge the three municipal corporations in the national Capital.
The Bill, which was introduced on March 25, was passed by a voice vote. Several amendments moved by members of the Opposition parties were rejected, according to The Hindu.
The Bill seeks to merge the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation. The corporation was trifurcated in 2012 by the Congress government. At that time, the Congress had said it wanted to decentralise power for better governance.
On Wednesday, the Bill was moved by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who alleged the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi had a “step-mother attitude” toward the municipal corporations in the city, according to The Hindu.
Shah said that since Delhi had important places such as the President’s House, Prime Minister’s Office, and secretariats among others, it was important for the civic bodies to do their work properly, according to The Indian Express.
The Aam Aadmi Party has said that Bill was introduced by the Centre to postpone the civic elections in the Capital that were scheduled for April.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on March 24 said that Aam Aadmi Party is willing to quit politics if the Bharatiya Janata Party conducts the civic polls on time and wins them.
On Wednesday, Shah said that if Aam Aadmi Party was confident of the victory, why was it asking for elections to be conducted on time, The Hindu reported. “If you have done good work, you will win six months later too,” he said.
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