 "Kejriwal proposes statehood for Delhi")
At present, Delhi being a Union Territory, and with some additional conditions, this is not so. The Centre, through its appointed lieutenant governor, and also directly, has overriding powers. The Kejriwal government has had several run-ins with the Centre and the LG on these isues; matters have also gone to court. The government has placed the bill on its website, inviting suggestions from the public till June 30.
In the draft, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) portion in the city’s centre and the Delhi Cantonment Board area will be out of the jurisdiction of the proposed Delhi state. The LG will be replaced with a Governor, as with other states.
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As for the bureaucracy, the bill proposes the creation of a separate official cadre for the state. The bill also moots that the High Court for the existing National Capital Territory be named the 'High Court of Delhi.
Soon after he took office, Kejriwal had raised the issue of statehood and claimed that the BJP led Centre was dragging its feet on it. Making similar charges today, Kejriwal recalled that it was the BJP manifestos that promised statehood in its manifestos from 1993 till 2014.
Taking the fight directly to the BJP camp, Kejriwal said: "L K Advani had tabled the Delhi Statehood Bill in Parliament in 2003. It was referred to a Standing Committee chaired by Pranab Mukherjee which had backed the suggestions. But for some reason it got lapsed." Kejriwal said the Congress had proposed statehood on several occasions.
The chief minister urged his political opponents to "rise above differences" and work along with the Delhi government on the issue of securing full statehood for Delhi. He even said that he would write and perosnally meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP President Amit Shah and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on this crucial issue.
AAP rivals lashed out at Kejriwal alleging that it was a "diversionary tactic". Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken claimed that the AAP chief wanted to divert attention from its failures, the most recent being the poor performance of AAP in MCD polls.
The draft bill proposes that all amendments to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act 1957, the Delhi Development Act 1957, the Delhi Police Act 1978 and other statutes passed by Parliament with regard to matters enumerated in the State List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution will be carried out by the Delhi Legislative Assembly.
Since Embassies and the central government are in the NDMC zone of the city, NDMC area could have a separate police, the CM said.
Once public comments come in, Kejriwal said, after June 30, the final version of the draft will be prepared and a resolution would be passed by the Delhi Assembly. "We will forward the resolution to the Centre which in turn will have to bring in a Constitutional Amendment," Kejriwal asserted.
"Through the passage of the bill, we seek to fulfil the dreams of Congress and BJP," said the astute chief minister.