AAP raises concerns over ramifications of Delhi Services Bill

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. File pic

Even as the Delhi Services Bill sailed through the Rajya Sabha, clearing all legislative hurdles in the Parliament, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday expressed reservations on its ramifications on governance in the national capital, saying that it could potentially undermine the elected government's authority and facilitate an indirect central rule.

The AAP stressed that they were chosen by the people to serve them and cater to their interests. Following the passage of the contentious draft legislation to replace to the Centre's Ordinance on the control of services in the national capital, in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hit out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah, claiming that the Bill was aimed at "ruling Delhi from the back door".

Echoing the concerns voiced by the CM and the AAP convenor, party leaders on Tuesday also voiced apprehensions of central rules overshadowing the decision-making of the Delhi government once the Services Bill becomes law. Opposition members in Parliament, especially those belonging to the ruling party in Delhi, voiced doubts about the motives behind the Bill, adding that they feared that it could lead to unintended power imbalances.

The Delhi Services Bill, which will now be sent to President Droupadi Murmu to be signed into law, is likely to trigger more fiery exchanges between the Treasury and the Opposition at a time when the Centre is facing a no-trust motion from the I.N.D.I.A bloc in the Lok Sabha over its handling of the situation in Manipur.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, who tabled the no-confidence motion in the Lok House, initiated a debate on it on Tuesday, claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should concede that the BJP government in Manipur had failed to rein in the ethnic violence in the Northeast state.

Meanwhile, senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Jayant Patil on Tuesday dismissed rumours of an imminent switch to the ruling Ajit Pawar camp, saying that he discussed the party's growth during a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

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