The Delhi Services Control Bill is all set to clear both houses of Parliament after YSR Congress Party agreed to support the Centre.
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Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party has supported the Union Government on multiple occasions. The YSRCP will also vote in NDA’s favor in the no-confidence motion brought by the Congress Party on Manipur Violence. The no-confidence motion was moved on Wednesday, July 26th.
The total number of seats in the Rajya Sabha is 238. Out of them, 111 seats belong to the NDA. To gain the majority and pass a bill the number should be 120. YSRCP has nine members with voting rights in the Rajya Sabha. If they support the controversial Delhi Services Control Bill, the Central Government can pass the bill with a clean sweep.
YSRCP’s leader in Delhi V. Vijaysai Reddy told NDTV that the party “would vote in favor of the government on both the issues.”
What is the Delhi Services Control Bill?
According to sources, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, or the Delhi Services Control Bill, 2024 shall be introduced by the Central Government in the Rajya Sabha, next week. This Bill will replace an ordinance that allowed the Centre to take decisions on the bureaucratic mechanism of the national capital.
The law will replace the ordinance that was promulgated by the President on May 19. The ordinance gave the Central government the power to retain control of the bureaucracy in Delhi and to transfer officials engaged in the civil services. All decisions regarding the transfer of bureaucrats used to be sieved through the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.
The ordinance was challenged by the AAP government in the Supreme Court. The Constitution Bench of the SC gave a judgment that gave the elected government in Delhi the power to control the bureaucrats excluding the ones attached to public order, land, and police.
The Central Government told in a statement that the Delhi Services Bill is being introduced because the judgment given by the five judges has vested the executive and civil “services” on the GNCTD. The Centre thinks that the conclusions drawn by the SC judges’ bench will only create hindrances in the way of smooth administration for the GNCTD. Therefore, legal interventions, that this bill would bring out, are appropriate and necessary for smooth governance.
AAP and BJP clash over the Delhi Services Bill
The clash between Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP was reignited with the introduction of the ordinance. The CM of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal himself has been traveling across the length and breadth of the country to forestall the BJP’s “unconstitutional bill”.
AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha has written a letter to the Chairman of Rajya Sabha and Vice President of India Mr. Jagdeep Dhankhar calling out the bill to be illegal.
In fact, AAP entered the I.N.D.I.A built by the opposition parties to battle the BJP’s mammoth-like popularity was on the basis that Congress took a stand against the BJP on the ordinance issue.
The Rajya Sabha has already allotted four hours for discussing the bill. At the beginning of the Monsoon Session AAP MP Sanjay Singh has already been suspended for his misbehavior.
The Union Cabinet has already passed the Delhi Services Bill on Tuesday. Once the Delhi Services Bill is presented on the Rajya Sabha floor it is going to face a lot of backlash from the newly formed Opposition Grouping Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance simply known as I.N.D.I.A. But the numbers are definitely in the favor of the Central Government.
Why is the YSRCP voting for the NDA?
According to sources, the YSRCP’s leader in Delhi Mr. V. Vijaysai Reddy had already conveyed to his party members that the party would be voting in favor of the NDA on the last weekend. He told Hindustan Times that they would have supported AAP if Delhi would have been a state. The MPs in the party, however, believe that Jagan Mohan Reddy’s recent fallout with the Congress might be the real reason for them not backing AAP.
