The discussion on the ‘National Capital Delhi Territory Government Amendment law, 2023’ in the Lok Sabha on Thursday witnessed jibes and fireworks between the government and opposition parties.
Home Minister Amit Shah explained why it was necessary to bring this law. He also mentioned that India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, opposed granting Delhi full statehood.
Congress leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary and Shashi Tharoor strongly opposed the bill. Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who was protesting outside Parliament, stated that Nehru may have opposed it, but former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee supported giving full statehood to Delhi.
According to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Amit Shah did not make a single convincing point. He believed that this bill would make Delhi a slave. Amit Shah mentioned that after independence, the Pattabhi Sitaramayya Committee recommended giving statehood to Delhi.
Amit Shah stated that when this idea was brought before the Constituent Assembly, leaders such as Nehru, Sardar Patel, Rajaji, Rajendra Prasad, and Dr. Ambedkar opposed it, stating that granting complete statehood to Delhi would not be appropriate. Dr. Ambedkar felt that as the capital of India, Delhi could not have much local administration.
According to Shah, during the discussion, Nehru stated that the world, India, and Delhi had changed since the appointment of the Sitaramayya Committee. Therefore, they could not accept the committee’s recommendations as it would ignore reality.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh countered Amit Shah’s statement and mentioned that Atal Bihari Vajpayee fought for full statehood for Delhi throughout his life. Singh stated that the bill would not stand in the Supreme Court.
Raghav Chadha mentioned that leaders like Lal Krishna Advani supported full statehood for Delhi. Advani introduced the Delhi Statehood Bill in 2003 and expressed the BJP’s ambition to have a full state government in Delhi. The BJP fought for this for 40 years but gave up, possibly because they know it is impossible to enter Delhi politics with Arvind Kejriwal.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal stated that the bill snatches away the rights of the people of Delhi. He believed that the arguments in favor of the law were not convincing and that it aimed to enslave the citizens. Kejriwal assured that India would never allow this to happen.
