Delhi ordinance: Opposition accuses BJP of ‘bulldozing’ Constitution, AAP to move Supreme Court

Opposition leaders on Saturday accused the Modi government of “bulldozing the Constitutional federal framework” after it brought an ordinance that gives the Centre-appointed lieutenant governor the final say on the postings and transfers of all bureaucrats serving the Delhi government.

The ordinance, promulgated by President Droupadi Murmu, effectively negates the May 11 Supreme Court verdict stating that the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party has legislative power over bureaucrats excluding the departments of public order, police and land.

At a press conference, Kejriwal said that the ordinance was unconstitutional and a “direct challenge” to the Supreme Court.

“We will approach the Supreme Court against it,” he added. “The Centre introduced the ordinance on services matter just hours after the apex court has shut for vacation…I will also go to people, door to door, in Delhi and AAP will also take to the streets against the ordinance because it snatches powers of Delhi people.”

The Delhi chief minister also described the ordinance, which has to be ratified by Parliament within six months, as “an attack on the federal structure”.

He urged Opposition parties not to let this bill pass in the Rajya Sabha, adding that he will meet political leaders to discuss the issue.

Congress leader and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who had argued the case on behalf of the Delhi government in the Supreme Court, said the ordinance violates the principles of the Constitution. “You [Modi government] have done something unconstitutional knowingly,” he told ANI. “You have also illegally bought time.”

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) said that the Centre’s action was a “direct assault” on the federal character of the Constitution and the rules of accountability and democratic governance as defined by the Supreme Court.

“This concerns not just the people and government of Delhi but all citizens concerned with the bulldozing of the constitutional federal framework by the central government,” the party added. “It must be opposed. CPI(M) demands its withdrawal.”

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said the ordinance was a travesty and goes against the spirit of cooperative federalism.

He, however, took a swipe at the Aam Aadmi Party saying that it had “happily sided” with the Bhartiya Janata Party when the Centre in 2019 unilaterally stripped Jammu and Kashmir of formal autonomy under Article 370 and split it into two Union Territories.

“Sadly your chickens have come home to roost now,” Abdullah wrote on Twitter.

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Manoj Kumar Jha told The Indian Express that the Centre’s ordinance was a “warning signal” to all elected governments.

“What worries me is that even after the intervention of the Supreme Court last week, if the government could resort to do something in this manner, it tells you that the very idea of the structure of federal character of our Constitution, the idea of cooperative federalism, is not safe in the hands of the people who are running the present Union government,” the Rajya Sabha MP added.

He also said the Supreme Court must take note of the government’s move and give a strong message that it cannot “bulldoze everything”.

The BJP, however, sought to justify the action saying that the ordinance was brought to ensure transparency and accountability.

“A question may arise as to why the next session of Parliament was not waited for to bring in legislation – but the answer for that lies in the daily anarchy that this government began indulging in; its efforts to shunt officers who were investigating its corruption,” North East Delhi BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said.

The Centre also filed a petition in the Supreme Court to review the May 11 judgement. It argued that the verdict ignores the fact that the functioning of the government in the national capital “affects the nation as a whole”.