House fails to consider GNCTD Bill as protests force adjournment of RS

New Delhi: The uproar in the Upper House started when Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh asked Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy to move a motion for the consideration of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment ) Bill 2021.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member Sanjay Singh protested against allowing the motion, saying his notice has been pending in the House.

The Deputy Chairman assured the AAP member that his notice would be considered after the motion is moved, but Singh called it "unconstitutional".

Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said that the bill is dangerous and will grab the rights of the elected government of Delhi and destroy democracy. He alleged that the government wants the L-G as government and the elected dispensation as his servant.

The deputy chairman adjourned the House till 5.24 PM. As the House reassembled, the protest by opposition members continued, prompting the chair to adjourn the House for a second time till 5.40 PM.

It was adjourned again till 5:50 pm and then till 6:10 pm. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan had urged the Chair to extend proceedings till 6.30 pm to discuss the bill.

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which was passed in Lok Sabha on Monday, seeks to make it clear that the "government" in Delhi means the "Lieutenant Governor". The bill also makes it mandatory for the Delhi government to take the opinion of the L-G before any executive action.

And after the ruckus, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi announced that the Bill would be taken up for discussion today again.

"We have discussed with leaders of all parties and arrived at a consensus that the House will meet tomorrow at 10 am... First we will discuss the Finance Bill, NCT and other Bills," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said. Joshi also informed that there would be no Zero Hour, Question Hour and Lunch Hour.

The Aam Aadmi Party, which is in power in

Delhi, has gone on the offensive since the Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha. While Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has alleged that this was the BJP's ploy to govern Delhi without winning a mandate, his party's lone MP Bhagwat Mann on Monday likened this legislation to the ones that downgraded Jammu and Kashmir's status in 2019.