BJP brought NCT Bill to stop Kejriwal's work in Delhi, says Raghav Chadha

After the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed by Parliament, Delhi Jal board Vice Chairman and MLA Raghav Chadha on Thursday said that the move was aimed to stall Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's work.

"The Prime Minister only fears one leader in India and he is Arvind Kejriwal. PM Modi feels that his political ground will be swept away by Kejriwal. This bill is aimed to stop only one leader. The media was always asking the question, who is PM Modi's alternative. Now BJP has given the answer to the people, to stall his (Kejriwal) work that's why they brought this law.

"Arvind Kejriwal will continue to give big fights to BJP in elections like in Surat. Now they are going to see bigger contests from AAP in Uttarakhand, Punjab and Goa. We will continue to work for the people of Delhi. The challenges we faced in the last six years were enormous, only Kejriwal can run Delhi facing such challenges. Aam Aadmi Party will not let the people of Delhi feel the brunt of this law," he added.

He said that the bill is "anti-democratic" as BJP wants to put the "selected in place of the elected".

The bill, which entails that the term "government" referred to in any law made by the Delhi legislative assembly will imply Lieutenant Governor, was passed in Parliament on Wednesday.

The passing of the bill in the Upper House was met with a walk-out by opposition parties including Congress and the AAP, who strongly opposed the bill. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the bill should be referred to a select committee of the House.

The bill seeks to amend the National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, The statement of objects and reasons of the bill says it seeks to clarify the expression "Government", which in the context of legislation to be passed by the Legislative Assembly of Delhi, shall mean the Lieutenant Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, consistent with the status of Delhi as a Union territory "to address the ambiguities in the interpretation of the legislative provisions".

( With inputs from ANI )