The Delhi Assembly Friday unanimously agreed that a message sent by Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena to speaker Ram Niwas Goel, to amend rules for the conduct of business and procedure of the House under the GNCTD (Amendment) Act, 2021, was contrary to the constitutional provisions and Supreme Court’s decisions.
In a message to Goel on August 27, the L-G had pointed that even after 14 months of the GNCTD (Amendment) Act, 2021, coming into effect, the Delhi Assembly has kept pending necessary amendments in its ‘Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business’ and asked the Delhi Legislative Sabha Speaker for “Constitutional compliance”.
Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla, who chaired the one-day special session on Friday, said the Rules Committee of the Delhi Assembly in a meeting held on August 16 unanimously approved that the L-G’s message was not in accordance with Article 233AA (IV) of the constitutional provisions and the apex court’s decisions in the GNCTD vs Union of India and other matters.
Birla said, “The committee said that both Article 243 AA (IV) and the Apex Court’s verdict lays down that the message sent by the L-G can only be sent to the Assembly after the aid and advice of the council of ministers.”
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The GNCTD Act, 2021, which was approved by the Centre last year gives an upper hand to the L-G over the elected government. As per the legislation, the “government” in Delhi means the “L-G”.