AAP vs Centre: Home Ministry returns 14 Bills of Delhi govt, Kejriwal targets Modi

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the central government returned bills.

AAP vs Centre: Home Ministry returns 14 Bills of Delhi govt, Kejriwal targets Modi

New Delhi: In a setback for the Aam Aadmi Party government, the Centre on Friday returned 14 bills which have been passed by the Delhi Assembly.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the central government returned bills.

The development comes on the day Kejriwal said there will be a referendum on the lines of Brexit on the full statehood for Delhi.

The Centre's act will surely lead to another round of confrontation with the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP.

 

Defending its stance, the Centre said it was returning the Bills as the AAP government did not follow proper procedures were not followed by the AAP government while adopting the legislations.

 

A senior Home Ministry official said since Delhi is a Union Territory, any bill it wants to adopt in the Assembly has to be first sent to the central government for approval.

If the nod is given, then only it can be moved for legislative approval.

When the Assembly passes the bill, then it has to go to the Lieutenant Governor and again to the central government for Presidential assent.

In none of the 14 bills, the Delhi government took prior approval from the central government and straightway passed the bills in the Assembly.

Since proper procedures were not followed, all the 14 bills were returned to the Delhi government for correction, the official said.

This came weeks after President Pranab Mukherjee refused assent to a legislation that sought to protect 21 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs, who have been appointed Parliamentary Secretaries, from disqualification for holding the office of profit.

The bills which were returned in the last few weeks include the Janlokpal Bill 2015, the Minimum Wages (Delhi Amendment) Bill 2015, Delhi School (Verification Of Accounts and Refund of Excess Fee) Bill 2015, Delhi School Education (Amendment) Bill 2015, Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Delhi Amendment) Bill 2015 and a Bill related to working journalists.

Taking to Twitter, the Aam Aadmi Party leader said the central government had no intention of clearing the bills. "They are interfering in everything."

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