Without taking political stand in favour or against the passage of Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 by both the Houses, it is important to study its impact. The Bill passed by both the Houses is likely to create power struggle, political crisis and the tug of war in between the Government of Delhi and the Centre. One may argue that for the BJP it can be a political tool, while for the Government of Delhi it can be an issue of functional crisis. But for experts and opinionmakers it can be an issue of constitutional crisis and ‘electoral autocracy’.
In his reaction to the move, Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal called the development an “insult” to the people of Delhi. “The passage of the GNCTD amendment Bill in Lok Sabha today is an insult to the people of Delhi. The Bill effectively takes away powers from those who were voted by people and gives powers to run Delhi to those who were defeated. BJP has cheated the people,” tweeted the Delhi Chief Minister. After Lok Sabha, GNCTD amendment Bill was also passed by the Rajya Sabha. The bill in its present form enhances the powers of the Lieutenant Governor and limits the powers of the democratically elected Delhi government in some respect.
Constitutional expert, Faizan Mustafa, Vice-Chancellor NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, in his article, “Delhi Bill will sow the seeds of absolutism,” published in Indian Express, has reasonably argued, “The overriding powers given to the Governor-General in the Government of India Act, 1935 was opposed by the leaders of our freedom movement, and this opposition prevented the legislation from being enforced at the Centre. The Delhi Bill takes us back to British era. Such Bills could strengthen the international perception of India becoming an electoral autocracy. This ill-timed move not only negates cooperative federalism but also upturns the fundamental principles laid down by the five-judge bench judgment of the Supreme Court in 2018. While the court was hopeful of a “constitutional renaissance” in the country, the Bill if passed in the current form would sow the seeds of absolutism. Justice D Y Chandrachud had, in fact, noted in his concurring judgment that democracy is in danger due to authoritarian tendencies in several countries.”
Yamini Aiyar and Partha Mukhopadhyay of the Centre for Policy Research, in an article published in the Hindustan Times on March 21, said, “This bill, despite its stated objective, represents yet another step toward centralising India’s federal polity. If passed, it will not only sharpen the political battle between the elected government of Delhi and the Union government, but also deepen the faultlines in India’s fragile federal compact.” The issue which was earlier a bone of contention in between the ruling AAP and the BJP-led Centre, was taken up by a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court and it ruled in favour of the elected Delhi government through its July 4, 2018 verdict.
The Bench of then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan, in three separate yet concurring orders, said: “The status of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi is not that of a Governor of a State, rather he remains an Administrator, in a limited sense, working with the designation of Lieutenant Governor.” It had also pointed out that the elected government must keep in mind that Delhi is not a state.
“It has to be clearly stated that requiring the prior concurrence of the Lieutenant Governor would absolutely negate the ideals of representative governance and democracy conceived for the NCT of Delhi by Article 239AA of the Constitution,” the court ruled. The court said that the L-G was bound by the aid and advice of the ministers in the Delhi government.
John Dayal, a noted social and human rights activist, said, “I am no fan of the Aam Admi Party, and in particular of Mr Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of the NCT of Delhi. I find his ideological moorings dodgy, elitist if not entirely casteist, and with a strong underlay of the sort of pseudo religious nationalism that is so popular now, with the BJP-RSS and with several others. I particularly abhor his attitude to the entire Shaheen Bagh episode and the aftermath of the east Delhi riots. But the manner in which the Narender Modi government has gone about loading the Lt Governor with powers which are denied to others in the same constitutional position speaks of a conspiracy to rob the citizens of Delhi of whatever shard of democratic governance that remains in the city state.
“The BJP, like the Congress and the AAP, has always spoken of full statehood for Delhi in its election campaigns, especially when the Congress was in power in the Centre and in the Union territory. This is, first of all, a total reneging on its political promises by the BJP. Most of us understood even then that Delhi will never be given full statehood, much as Washington DC is not a full state. As the national capital, the element of security overrides every other concern. It will not do to have a full state, perhaps, which can block the functioning and movement of the Central Government, especially its constitutional institutions and the offices and homes of the Prime Minister, President, Military commanders and the judicial officers. That is something everyone knows and understands. But the people of Delhi – almost 2.5 crore – require democratic interlocutors for their everyday needs and for development of the areas where they live.”
Dayal argued, “Delhi’s situation is fraught because of the multiplicity of authorities. Its land and major urban issues are with the Delhi Development Authority with the Lt Governor as its chairperson. The three Municipal corporations together with the New Delhi Municipal Committee also report to the LG. The Cantonment Board, chaired by the military, also reports ultimately to the Centre. Ideally, there should have been. Some sort of Mayor in Council with all municipal and development works with it, with only perhaps the police with the Central government. But in its wisdom, the multi-tiered system was created with ill-defined but ridiculously water tight overlays. No agency seems to have the freedom to even do the work it is supposed to do. It is time to have a debate in Parliament and with the people of Delhi on an ideal political and governance system for the capital city.”