New Delhi, Dec 07: Clearing the Delhi Statehood Bill with a few comments, a parliamentary committee has questioned a provision conferring executive powers on the president to give directions to the state of Delhi on governance and suggested renaming of proposed new state as "national capital state of Delhi". The parliamentary standing committee on home affairs, whose report was tabled in Rajya Sabha earlier this week, strongly favoured preservation of Delhi's "distinct" identity as capital of India as it considered the models of various countries.


"Keeping in view the fact that Delhi is now known as 'national capital territory of Delhi', it will be more appropriate to christen the proposed new state as 'national capital state of Delhi," said the 44-member committee headed by Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee. The report said the committee was of the opinion that such christening of the proposed new state will "not only preserve and promote general awareness attached to Delhi as being a national capital but will also reinforce the fact that Delhi is first and foremost the 'capital of India' and then a state."

Bureau Report