New Delhi: Leaders of various opposition parties on Wednesday accused the Union government of showing “blatant disregard” for the spirit of “cooperative federalism” and trying to intrude on the power of the Delhi government by seeking to re-unifying the three municipal corporations in Delhi.The opposition parties, some of which had recently contested against each other in Goa, came together in a show of strength to oppose the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in the Lok Sabha. The Bill seeks to reverse the 2011 amendment to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 by which the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was trifurcated into separate North, South, and East corporations. The Bill also seeks to put a cap of 250 seats in the civic body – as against 272 at present.The members questioned the timing of the move, as it comes barely days before the three corporations were scheduled to go to the polls in April 2022.The amendment Bill also notes that a delimitation exercise will likely be conducted to draw “the extent of wards” and mark the reserved seats for candidates from Scheduled Castes and women. This exercise, the MPs pointed out, could result in the 2022 Delhi civic polls being deferred a great deal.Speaking against the motion to pass the Bill, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury charged that the legislation showed that the Union government was bent upon intruding on the rights of the Delhi government.Though the Delhi government is at present led by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), whose entry onto the political scene in the national capital has pushed the Congress to the fringes, Chowdhury still stood up to defend its rights.Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule too demanded that the MCD amendment Bill be sent to the Delhi assembly, saying only it was empowered to take a decision on the matter.Trinamool Congress MP Mohua Moitra charged that the introduction of the Bill showed blatant disregard for cooperative federalism. Earlier talking to NDTV, Moitra had stated that only the Delhi assembly was empowered to take a decision on the MCD Bill. She pointed out that the 2011 amendment, through which the MCD was trifurcated, had taken place in the Delhi assembly.Moitra also said the constitution clearly states that power over municipal corporations vests with the states and that they come under the State List. As per both these rules, she said, the MCD Act cannot be amended in Parliament.Moitra also questioned why the amendment has been brought just when the corporation polls were due in Delhi in April 2022. She said the State Election Commission had stated that the elections would be held on time.The delimitation exercise which has been planned alongside the legislation has the potential to delay the civic body polls in Delhi. With the amendment Bill seeking to cap the number of seats in the civic body of Delhi to 250 wards and a new delimitation exercise having been planned to draw “the extent of wards”, Moitra expressed apprehension that the process could go on for nearly a year and as such it was no longer clear when the MCD elections would be held.Earlier, speaking about the need for the Bill, Union home minister Amit Shah accused the Delhi government of adopting a “step-motherly attitude” towards the three corporations. He said it was essential that the civic bodies functioned properly in Delhi, since it was the national capital and also housed the Rashtrapati Bhawan, Prime Minister’s Office, secretariats and other important places.
