Delhi services bill set to pass as BJD, YSRCP say will support it | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: On a day when the government introduced the bill meant to replace the ordinance promulgated in May to empower the Centre to keep the control over bureaucracy in Delhi, two influential regional players — YSR Congress and BJD — with 18 crucial votes in the Rajya Sabha, declared their support for the contentious legislation, ensuring its passage in Parliament.

While the passage of the Government of NCT of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha was always a foregone conclusion given BJP’s own majority, its passage in the Rajya Sabha had looked a challenge because of the ruling party’s lack of numbers. It had banked on the neutrality of BJD and YSRCP as well as other nonaligned players like BSP and TDP. The open support by the governing parties of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha straightaway took the number of MPs committed to supporting the bill to over 130 in a House with an effective strength of 237.

“We will vote in favour of the government on the Delhi bill,” YSR Congress Party functionary V Vijaysai Reddy told TOI.
BJD declared its stand through the whip it issued to its members asking them to support the bill that has been attacked by other regional parties for allegedly being violative of the principle of federalism. “BJD has decided to support the passing of the Delhi bill and we will be opposing the no-confidence motion moved by the opposition parties. A three-line whip has been issued by the party to all Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members to remain present in the House and do the needful,” BJD RS member Sasmit Patra said.
Unlike BJD, YRSCP’s Reddy said the party’s stand on the “no-confidence motion” is yet to be decided. Significantly, an agency report had earlier quoted Reddy as saying that his party would oppose the no-trust vote.

Asked about it, Reddy, who is leader of the YSRCP parliamentary group, said the call would be taken by “our leader” and Andhra CM Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The government had, in any case, always appeared confident of mustering enough support. It was evident again on Tuesday when home minister Amit Shah dubbed as “politically motivated” the opposition’s claim that the bill was illegal because it flew in the face of the Supreme Court order that vested the superintendence of services in the elected government of Delhi. “Our Constitution allows Parliament to make laws for Delhi. Any opposition to this bill has no constitutional basis. There is no reason for the opposition to seek to block the introduction of the bill,” Shah said amid the din as opposition members trooped into the well raising slogans.
Shah also said that Article 239 AA of the Constitution gives the Centre the power to bring a bill on Delhi and this has been underscored by the SC in the very same judgment that the opposition has cited.

He found support from BJD’s leader in the Lok Sabha Pinaki Misra, who quoted from the SC verdict to say that the apex court had acknowledged that Parliament had the power to change the law based on which they had ruled in favour of the Delhi government.
Opposing the introduction of the bill, the entire opposition camp vociferously argued that Parliament lacks legislative competence on the bill. Gaurav Gogoi of Congress and T R Baalu of DMK argued that the House will have to dispose of the no-confidence motion before taking up any substantive legislation.
AAP’s only LS MP Sushil Kumar Rinku stormed into the well, protesting against being denied the opportunity to speak, calling it “murder of democracy” and “insult to Ambedkar”. Rinku and Congress MP TN Prathapan flung papers in the well after junior home minister Nityanand Rai introduced the bill.
Congress leader in LS Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury termed the bill an “outrageous infringement” on the powers of the state. “It is designed for digging up a graveyard of cooperative federalism. It aims to curb the powers of the Delhi government. The Centre wants to weaken democracy through this move,” he said. RSP MP NK Premchandran said, “I am questioning the legislative competence of the government in tabling the bill. It is against the principles of federalism envisaged in the Constitution. The elected government in Delhi not having control over bureaucrats will mean not having a government in Delhi.”
Baalu, Shashi Tharoor of Congress, Saugata Roy of TMC and Asaduddin Owaisi of AIMIM pitched similar reasons to demand that the government be disallowed from tabling the bill. Baalu remarked, “The government is going autocratic.”
Of the 26 parties from the opposition grouping, at least 18 have a presence in the Rajya Sabha. BRS, with seven MPs, is also likely to vote against the bill.