Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in Gujarat. AP
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in Gujarat. AP
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in Gujarat. AP
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in Gujarat. AP

India's Parliament passes bill to give Modi government more power in Delhi


Taniya Dutta
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The upper house of the Indian Parliament on Monday passed a bill giving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government greater control over the Delhi administration.

The contentious bill, which seeks to transfer control over bureaucrats in the capital region to the central government from the local government, received 131 votes in favour and 101 against from members of the Rajya Sabha.

Delhi, which contains the capital New Delhi, is located in the National Capital Territory that has been governed by the opposition Aam Aadmi Party since 2015.

The local government controls services such as electricity, education and public works, while the central government, led by Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party since 2014, controls law enforcement and land management.

The AAP, led by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, has fought for complete control over the capital region including law and order, which are currently under the federal government.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal is also head the the local government in Delhi. AFP
Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal is also head the the local government in Delhi. AFP

Last week the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, overriding a Supreme Court ruling that had upheld the powers of the local government.

A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India Dhananjay Chandrachud had in May ruled that the Delhi government should have control over bureaucrats in the administration of services, except in areas of public order, police and land.

With the bill passed in both houses of Parliament, it will become effective after being signed into law by the President.

The federal Home Minister Amit Shah said the new law, which replaces a government ordnance, would provide “effective and corruption-free governance” in the national capital.

“We have not brought the bill to usurp power. This is to stop the encroachment of the Delhi government on the Centre's powers,” Mr Shah said.

But Mr Kejriwal called it a “black day" for India and said that the "law will not let the elected government of Delhi work".

“The law passed today stipulates that every policy for Delhi government officials shall be determined by the central government,” Mr Kejriwal said in a video message.

“They don’t respect the Supreme Court. They have the arrogance to believe they can reverse an SC order.”

Family reunited

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.

She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.

She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.

The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.

She was held in her native country a year later.

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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Updated: August 08, 2023, 11:26 AM`