New Delhi, Aug 7: Rajya Sabha on Monday passed the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 seeking to replace the Ordinance by the central government on the transfers and postings of senior officers in the Delhi government.
The Bill had smooth sailing in the Upper House with 131 members voting in favour of it while 102 against it.
The Lok Sabha passed the controversial Bill in its sitting last week.
Replying to the discussion on the Bill, Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Bill has been brought to safeguard the rights of the people in Delhi.
In his scathing remarks which sparked uproar from Opposition parties, Shah said that Delhi has assembly but with limited power and one standing for election in the national capital territory (NCT) should keep this in mind.
“While fighting an election for Panchayat one should not expect the rights of Parliament,” Shah said.
He also presumably took jibe at senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi and said that lawyers have the art of putting words beautifully.
“They defend a section of law and oppose the same equally convincingly,” he said.
Opposing the Bill, Singhvi said that the Bill is regressive and completely unconstitutional.
He assured the House that the objective of the bill was only to provide people-centric, efficient and corruption-free governance.
He took opposition head-on and said that he was absolutely ready for discussion on Manipur from day one of the ongoing Monsoon session and announced that the same can be done on August 11 as the coming three days will see debate on No-confidence motion in Lok Sabha.
He attacked the AAP government in Delhi and said that the Delhi government transferred officers in the vigilance department as liquor scam files were with it.
Hitting out at the Congress for supporting the Bill, Shah said that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will quit Opposition bloc INDIA once Delhi services bill is passed. He stated that Congress was only supporting the Bill to appease AAP.
On some of the members raising apprehension that such Bill can be brought for other states also, Amit Shah said that such a Bill can be only introduced in a Union Territory.
Earlier during the discussion on the Bill, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut termed the Bill as dangerous and said that those who would vote in its favour would be doing a disservice to the nation.
Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and now Rajya Sabha member Ranjan Gogoi supported the Bill and said that it was perfectly legitimate.
