New Delhi: The Lt Governor of Delhi has been granted more powers through the information of the GNCTD (Amendment) Act triggering anxieties of a tussle and run-ins with the ruling AAP administration during the coronavirus pandemic. The ruling AAP disputed the timing of the information in the middle of another COVID wave, insisting it will lead to “chaos” and “adversely” influence the management of the pandemic.
“The Centre and the Delhi government are working together to tackle COVID but such notification will bring a lot of confusion. When the work is going on a war footing the last thing people expect is chaos and confusion among the administrations,” said the party. The Union Home Ministry’s notification giving effect to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021 came on Tuesday night. It makes obvious that Delhi’s elected government will presently have to seek the view of the L-G before any executive decision.
“This means the elected dispensation in Delhi has been rendered ineffectual in day-to-day business. The move that comes amid a raging pandemic may cause problems related to the execution of administrative works about many important issues facing the city,” claimed a source. At the passage of the GNCTD (Amendment) Bill in Rajya Sabha on March 24, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said his government will continue to strive to revive power to the people while doing the good work it had undertaken.
Though the Kejriwal government and the AAP kept silent over the MHA notification and no reply was ready from their side on Wednesday. In March, reacting to the enactment of the GNCTD(Amendment) Act, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said that the judgment dispensation was taking legal opinion to determine its future course of action. Delhi LG Anil Baijal, in his empowered role under the act, will chair a weekly COVID evaluation meeting scheduled on Thursday. The chief minister and his Cabinet ministers had been attending these meetings in the past, officials said.
The AAP headed by Kejriwal had a meeting with the office of LG immediately after getting to power in Delhi in 2015 had now after coming to rule in Delhi in 2015. The then LG Najeeb Jung and Kejriwal government had on more than one occasion fought over policy issues and their respective powers. The tussle continued even after Jung was replaced by Anil Baijal. As recently as July last year, the two sides changed on jurisdictions, with Baijal denying the Kejriwal government’s panel of public prosecutors for Delhi riots cases. There was a marked improvement in the situation after the Supreme Court intruded in July 2018 and ordered that the LG was bound by support and advice of the elected government in Delhi in all matters impeding public order police and land.
Though, the calm which prevailed for nearly three years is presently under threat with the notification establishing the LG’s supremacy over the ruling dispensation as it specifies that his idea will be taken before any executive action by the Cabinet or its ministers. Sources said the timing of the announcement was especially remarkable as the Delhi government had faced flak in the high court over the administration of the pandemic.
The AAP in a statement said the Centre could have waited instead of publishing the notification in the middle of another wave.”We hoped that the central government should have waited at least till the end of the second wave.
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Delhi is amidst the COVID-19 crisis and by notifying this right in the middle of the second wave, it can lead to a lot of chaos,” said the AAP statement. This could “definitely adversely affect” COVID administration in the national capital, said the party. Under the leadership of Kejriwal, the AAP government is managing on every conceivable aspect to tackle the second wave, it said. The sources said that with GNCTD Act in force there is also a possibility of delay in important judgments linked to the government’s policies and programs because of the necessity of LG’s approval.
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