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Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 22
The Lok Sabha today cleared the contentious Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill 2021, which seeks to give more powers to the Lieutenant Governor, a representative of the Central Government and Delhi’s administrative head.
No harm done
The Bill aims at bringing clarity on duties and responsibilities and clearing misunderstandings. We are not amending the Constitution.
Criticising the move, Opposition party MPs accused the Modi government of “murdering” the democracy and “damaging” the country’s federal structure.
Urging the government to send the Bill to the Select Committee, NCP leader Supriya Sule said: “It (the Kejriwal government) must be doing something right which is why people elected them for three consecutive terms.”
Bid to wrest power
The Bill effectively takes away powers from those who were voted by people and giving these to those who were defeated.
Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy, however, said no rights were being taken away from the Delhi Government. Insisting that it was not a political move, he said: “The aim is to bring clarity to laws, create a sound government mechanism in Delhi, end ambiguity in running the affairs of the national Capital and enhance accountability.”
Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut slammed BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi “for speaking against the Delhi CM who is not a member of the House”. He reminded the House of the Daman and Nagar Haveli MP Mohan Delkar, who had named the administrator in his suicide note.
AAP MP Bhagwant Mann said: “We are being punished because we did not give permission for stadiums to be used as jails during the farmers’ protests. You cannot run Delhi through dictatorship. The BJP has been out of power for 22-23 years in Delhi and it can’t digest this fact.”
Congress’ Manish Tewari and his colleague JS Gill accused the BJP of trying to wrest power in states it lost.
Hitting back, Lekhi said the LG had the right to send the Bills to the President. “We have a quasi-federal structure where on some issues the Centre will take precedence. The Centre moved in because it was required,” she said.
In Parliament
Insurance Bill raising FDI to 74% cleared
The Parliament on Monday passed the Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2021, increasing the FDI in the insurance sector from 49 per cent to 74 per cent with the LS approving the proposed law. FM Nirmala Sitharaman said the Bill had been taken up after due consultations to help insurers raise additional funds and tide over financial problems and was not being “pushed” as alleged by some Opposition members. TNS
LS passes Marine Aids to Navigation Bill
With technological changes taking place at a fast pace in marine navigation, the LS on Monday passed the Marine Aids to Navigation Bill, 2021, a Bill to replace an over nine-decade-old law governing lighthouses. TNS
Infrastructure bank Bill in Lok Sabha
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday introduced the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development Bill, 2021, in the Lok Sabha. TNS
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