Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday accused the Centre of trying to rule the national Capital “through the backdoor”, reported PTI. Sisodia’s comments came a day after the Union Cabinet cleared a proposal to give more power to the lieutenant governor.
“This is in one way the Bharatiya Janata Party trying to rule Delhi through the backdoor,” Sisodia said addressing a press conference. “The Bharatiya Janata Party has lost the elections [in Delhi] three times... Now, it is trying to run the government through the backdoor against the Constitution.”
The deputy chief minister also alleged that the Union Cabinet cleared the proposal to give more power to the lieutenant governor “stealthily”. The lieutenant governor reports to the central government.
“As per the Centre’s proposal, the final decision-making power will lie with the L-G [lieutenant governor] and not the elected government,” he said.
Sisodia warned that if the law was passed, all subsidies would be “snatched away” from the people of Delhi. He claimed that the BJP-led Centre would revoke the Delhi government’s schemes for free power, water and bus ride for women.
He said it was stated in the Constitution that the Delhi government would have the power to take all matters concerning the Union Territory except those pertaining to land, police and public order. Sisodia claimed that the Centre’s move was “against democracy, Constitution and will of the citizens of Delhi”.
He also recalled that in 2015, the Centre had tried to rule Delhi through the lieutenant governor. Sisodia said that the Aam Aadmi Party government had then approached the Supreme Court, where a constitution bench observed that the Delhi government and the legislative assembly has the power to take all the decisions regarding the national Capital except the three matters.
“The SC [Supreme Court] had stated that the L-G will have no role and will only need to be informed about the Delhi government’s day-to-day decisions,” he said. “Now that it has no way out, the BJP-ruled Central government is now keeping aside and overlooking the Constitution and the observations of the SC to directly rule Delhi.”
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!