RJD flays amended GNCTD Act for empowering 'unelected' L-G, says 'people not accepting it'

Frowning upon the passage of the GNCTD bill in both Houses of Parliament, RJD MP Manoj Jha on Monday opined that the people are not able to accept it. RJD was among the opposition parties which staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha after which The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed by 83-45 votes. Lambasting the Centre for changing the definition of an elected government, he lamented that an "unelected" person- Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal had been designated as government. A day earlier, this bill became an Act of Parliament after receiving President Ram Nath Kovind's assent. 

Amendments to the GNCTD bill

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 was enacted to supplement the provisions of the Constitution pertaining to the Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministers for Delhi. In judgments dated July 4, 2018, and February 14, 2019, the Supreme Court interpreted the provisions of Article 239AA of the Constitution relating to the structure of governance in the National Capital Territory. The Centre sought to amend the law to give effect to the interpretation made by the apex court in the aforesaid judgments and to promote harmonious relations between the legislature and the executive. After the passage of the bill in the Rajya Sabha, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal termed it as a "sad day" for Indian democracy and vowed to continue doing good work. 

Here are the key highlights of the bill:

• The term 'Government' in the context of legislation to be passed by the Delhi Assembly shall mean the 'Lieutenant Governor'. 
• The rules made by the Legislative Assembly will be consistent with the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Lok Sabha.
• The Legislative Assembly cannot make rules to consider matters of the day-to-day administration of Delhi and conduct any probe into administrative decisions. All such rules made before the enactment of this bill will be void.
• The L-G also has to reserve bills that cover any of the matters outside the purview of the Legislative Assembly for the consideration of the President.
• The opinion of the L-G must be obtained on certain matters before taking any executive action on the decisions of Ministers.