Govt introduces Delhi civic bodies merger Bill in Lok Sabha amid opposition protest

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, March 25

Three days after the Union Cabinet approved the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022, the government on Friday introduced the controversial bill in the Lok Sabha.

Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai introduced the Bill after vehement resistance to the move by the MPs of the Congress, BSP and RSP.

Congress MP Manish Tewari cited a provision inserted in the Constitution in 1993 to argue that Parliament did not have the legislative competence to deal with any subject related to municipal committees which, he said, was an exclusive remit of the state governments. Tewari said if at all any house had the legislative competence to deal with the issue at hand, it is the Delhi assembly, and added that introduction of the Bill in the Lok Sabha was a violation of the basic structure of the Constitution.

Earlier, RSP’s NK Premchandran and BSP opposed the introduction of the Bill.

MoS Rai later said the Bill was in no way an affront either to rights of the states or to the basic structure of the Constitution and was meant “solely to promote the development of the people of Delhi”.

“The experience of the past 10 years shows that the municipal corporations could not achieve the objectives of furthering the welfare of the people of the state. This Bill seeks to further the development of Delhi residents and all sides should support it,” said Rai citing constitutional provisions to say that Parliament is authorised to amend any law passed by the Delhi assembly.

The Bill, which the ruling Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party has been opposing, will merge the three existing civic bodies of Delhi – the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, the North Delhi and South Delhi Municipal Corporations.

Kejriwal has been alleging that the government is seeking to delay the MCD polls and infringe on state rights by way of the proposed legislative changes.

Kejriwal says the BJP has been in power at the Centre for eight years.

“Why write to the EC an hour before the scheduled announcement of the dates of Delhi MCD polls? The unification of MC bodies could have been done any time. Why now? This is nothing but a ploy to delay elections because the BJP is scared of losing,” the Delhi CM said.

He earlier dared the BJP to conduct the polls in time and said, “We will leave politics if the BJP holds MCD polls in time and wins them.”