Parliament has passed the much talked about Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill that sought to place more powers in the Lieutenant Governor’s hands and limits the elected government’s powers to some extent.

The Bill, which Lok Sabha passed on Monday, was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday after several parties, including the Congress, BJD, YSRCP and Samajwadi party, opposed the Bill and staged a walkout.

Replying to the discussion on the Bill, G Kishan Reddy, Minister of State for Home Affairs, said that the Bill was “no way undemocratic or unconstitutional” and asserted that the ruling Modi government was committed to democratic values.

“I would like to tell the people of Delhi and the whole country that we have full belief in the Constitution. We did not bring this Bill to create problems for the Delhi government...I request every member to support the Bill unequivocally”, Reddy said in the upper house.

Reacting to the Rajya Sabha move to pass the GNCTD Bill, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted: “Sad day for democracy. We will continue our struggle to restore power back to people. Whatever be the obstacles, we will continue doing good work. Work will neither stop or slow down”.

The controversial Bill, which had raised a lot of criticism from the ruling Aam Admi Party, seeks to clearly state that the expression “government” will mean Lieutenant Governor in laws made by the Legislative Assembly.

The other provision that had raised a lot of eyebrows is the one which specified that the opinion of the LG has to be sought for any executive action. The Aam Admi Party contended that the Bill was contrary to the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in the power tussle between the Delhi government and the Central government.

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