The ongoing Winter Session of the Delhi Assembly is bound to create a fresh battlefield for the AAP Government for raising its demand for grant of full statehood for the national Capital.
All the 10-odd proposed Bills being brought up before the House are likely to be passed as the AAP Government enjoys the support of 67 of the 70 legislators in the State Assembly. The most important aspect of all the proposed Bills — also bills having financial implications — is that they are being tabled in the House without getting the prior approval of the Centre, said experts.
But the AAP Government is going ahead with its confrontationist agenda with the BJP-led Centre by tabling the proposed bills without getting any such requisite approval, said political observers, adding that even after the proposed bills are cleared by the House they could not be implemented as they are unlikely to get Centre’s clearance.
Asked what purpose these bills were going to serve to the AAP Government, a senior local leader said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his team want to project that all there decisions related to public good were being rejected by the Centre. “This will help them to prepare a strong ground to raise their pitch for the grant of full statehood for Delhi.”
An AAP insider said once the Centre rejects these bills, the party will go the whole hog on the issue of full statehood for Delhi. “The Government has already made a strong pitch for getting control over the Delhi Police. It has time and again said that it should be allowed to take control of the three municipal bodies and the DDA.”
A source said the Government, along with its party functionaries, was devising a strategy to launch a massive agitation on the full statehood issue. “The statehood issue will gain momentum after the Winter Session.”
On the Code of Criminal Procedure (Delhi Amendment) Bill, the law Department had clearly said since the Cr.PC, 1973 was a law made by Parliament, the proposed amendment law, if made by the legislative Assembly of Delhi would be repugnant to the existing procedures of the CrPC.
The law department said, “In view of the first proviso to Article 239 AA(3)(c), the amendments by the legislative Assembly shall require ascent of the President of India to prevail in the NCT of Delhi… Any legislative proposal required to be reserved for consideration of President and assent of the President is required to be referred to the Central government before introduction in the legislative assembly of Delhi.”
A senior bureaucrat said the proposed bills in question are the Delhi (Right of Citizen to Time Bound Delivery of Services) Amendment Bill-2015, the Code of Criminal Procedure (Delhi Amendment) Bill 2015, the Delhi School (Verification of Accounts and Refund of Excess Fee) Bill 2015, the Delhi School Education (Amendment) Bill 2015, Rights of Children to free and compulsory education (Delhi Amendment) Bill 2015, the Working Journalists and Other Newspaper Employees (Conditionsof Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions (Delhi Amendment) Bill 2015, Minimum wages (Delhi )Amendment Bill 2015, Delhi Janlokpal Bill 2015 and the one pertaining to hike in salaries and perks of MlAs, Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues. Of these, the CrPC amendment Bill has been passed.