Centre wants to seize ‘keys’ of Delhi government through Services Bill: Raghav Chadha in Rajya Sabha

In a fiery speech during the Monsoon Session in the Rajya Sabha, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha on Monday alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of illegally passing the controversial Delhi Services bill replacing the ordinance on transfer and postings of senior officers in the state government, saying that it seeks to grant the ‘keys’ of the state government to the Centre.

“I am speaking on the behalf of 125 crore Indians. We are not asking anything more than what is our right. This Bill is a political fraud, a constitutional sin and is bringing an administrative logjam in Delhi,” he said in Rajya Sabha, after the Bill was passed in the Lower House of the Parliament.

“This Bill has been introduced because BJP has suffered major defeats in the last six Assembly elections. They were unable win the polls for 25 years, and they know they will not win for another 25 years due to the Arvind Kejriwal government. That’s why they seek to destroy the established government,” Chadha further said. 

The AAP Rajya Sabha MP further said that the BJP has sent a clear message that they will not follow the decisions of the apex court and wants to “encroach” on the administrative control of the AAP government in Delhi. He further asserted that the Bill will meet the same fate as the ‘fetish’ of the Centre to introduce other ordinances like the Farm Bill or the Land Acquisition Bill.

Stating that this has not happened before in the history of the Indian Parliament, Chadha said, “This Bill seeks to undermine the Parliament’s Principles of Collective Responsibility. It destroys a triple chain of accountability. The Centre has committed a constitutional crime. Now officers will not have to listen to the CM or the Ministers. This action seizes power from an elected government by giving superceding powers to the Lieutenant Governor.”

He also mentioned the efforts of Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Home Minister LK Advani in granting full statehood to Delhi, and appealed to current Union Home Minister Amit Shah to follow their footsteps.

“The Bill transfers the powers of organising and establishing corporations to the Central government, as a means of handing the ‘keys’ of the state government to the Centre,” he added.

The passage of the Delhi Services Bill

Earlier on August 3, the Lok Sabha passed the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 to replace the ordinance on transfers and postings of senior officers in the Delhi government. Shah on Monday moved the controversial Bill, 2023, in Rajya Sabha. The debate in the upper house began after frequent adjournments. 

The Bill, which gives the Delhi Lieutenant Governor a final say on the transfer and posting of officials of the city government, will strengthen the central government’s control over the national capital.”The Delhi services bill will come up in Rajya Sabha on Monday (August 7). Voting for the passage of the bill will be held the same day in the evening after the conclusion of a discussion on the bill,” news agency PTI reported citing sources.

The NDA has 106 (excluding 5 nominated MPs and including NCP-Ajit Pawar’s Praful Patel) members in the Rajya Sabha, while the 26-party Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) has the support of 98 members. Meanwhile, the non-aligned parties have 29 members. Meanwhile, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) will vote with the Opposition bloc. It has 7 members in the house. The BJD and YSRCP have nine members each and they have decided to extend their support to the ruling government for the crucial bill.

Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made the contentious bill a rallying point to bring together opposition parties to oppose it in the Rajya Sabha. For both NDA and I.N.D.I.A alliance, the number in the upper house are evenly poised. However, the fence-sitters have titled the scales in favour of the BJP-led government. 

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