Mobilenews24x7 Bureau
The game between the Centre and the Delhi government has been almost over and the stretched long face off is over by the passing of the highly “contentious’ bill ‘Delhi Service Bill.
The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) , bill 2023 (‘GNCTD’) is a rare legislation by itself which was alreadt passed in the Lower House regardless the walk out by the opposition. .
And the cementing took place on Friday when passed in the Upper House and not by a very thumping margin although(131 to 102)
To put it straight, it was a match that the AAP govt and the Central govt and an overhaul of the long federal structure and the statutory and judicial precepts.
Now what?
Not that easy yet let’s look into the unique position that Delhi holds in the landscape of India as a Union of States. “Delhi is a union territory and according to Article 239 of the Constitution, union territories are governed by the President through an appointed administrator, the Lieutenant Governor. However, through the 69th Amendment of the Constitution, Article 239AA was inserted which conferred a special status upon Delhi”.
That mandated that “Delhi was to have an elected government with authority over all subjects enlisted in the State List and the Concurrent List while matters related to public order, police, and land were to remain under the Union Government’s purview”.
To place it correctly, that was brought into effectin response to Delhi’s persistent demand for statehood based on the S Balakrishnan committee in 1991.
And now, the Bill seeks to transfer the control over appointments of officials from the State government to the Lieutenant Governor. Consequently, the day-to-day affairs of Delhi would no longer be under the elected government and instead be under a nominated head.
Thus, the latest developments can potentially undo the over three-decade-long federal framework of Delhi’s governance and nullify the authority of the state government.
But this also implies is that it can amend the Constitution which goes against the letters and spirit of Article 239AA(7)(b) and remains a question before the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court of India.
However in total disregard to the unequivocal support of the federal governance in Delhi by the Apex court, the Central Government had promulgated an Ordinance a few days later whose provisions effectively undermined the effect of this judgment of the apex court. grants the
Lieutenant Governor the supreme authority?
Thus mandates the Lieutenant Governor the authority to oversee appointments, deputations, and transfers related to public services and state public services. In other words, the infantry of public governance, ie, the civil servants would now be under the Lieutenant Governor.
That (ordinance) was challenged by the Delhi government before the Supreme Court. In this case, the court observed that “the sub-clauses of a and b of Article 239 AA(7) posit an inherent conflict regarding whether the Ordinance has the effect of amending the Constitution beyond the scope of the concerned Article”
.
Even it made an important observation regarding how the Ordinance invalidates the “triple chain of accountability” that is integral to the constitutional fabric of India. This chain of accountability devolves from the permanent executives to the elected government to the legislature and ultimately to the public. So, eliminating the legislature and an elected government from the equation ruptures the intent of the 69th Amendment.
Given that this is an important constitutional question, this matter is now pending before the Constitution Bench of the Apex Court.
Opposition now a lame duck
Besides, it grants the President the authority to form all statutory commissions and tribunals in Delhi, a power which rested with the state government erstwhile.
Finally, it ordains the Lieutenant Governor’s decision to prevail over any matters related to Delhi. It is not too far-fetched to say that Delhi’s democratic life force at the state level is in serious jeopardy.
Serious blow to ‘INDIA’
In the political arena, this comes as a serious blow to the Aam Aadmi Party, one of the keystones of the Opposition alliance, I.N.D.I.A.
