In the midst of his bitter fight with the Centre on a range of issues, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday accused the Modi dispensation of turning its relationship with Delhi government into an "India-Pakistan" type situation and alleged that BJP President Amit Shah was "micromanaging" functioning of the CBI. In the first edition of his Talk to AK show, seen as his answer to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Maan Ki Baat and an attempt to increase Aam Aadmi Party's national connect, the Delhi Chief Minister said his government would have achieved four times of what has been done for the city in the last 17 months had "obstacles" not been put by the Centre. Kejriwal called for repealing the "no-detention policy" under which every student is promoted till Class IX. "Don't mess around with the youth and education of this country. If this system continues then the future may be in peril, unemployment will be widespread. The Centre has a no-detention policy in place till Class VIII.
Election Commission to decide on AAP's 'parliamentary secretaries'
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has to take a call on the appointment of parliamentary secretaries - whether they are legal or not - this week. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had appointed 21 persons as secretaries to assist the Delhi Chief Minister. In a bid to legalise their appointment, the Delhi Assembly passed a Bill announcing that like ministers, these positions will be out of the ambit of the office of profit. However, the President of India doesn't quite see it that way and when the Bill went to him for clearance, he rejected it. Now, the ECI - cognizant of the fact that the First Citizen has rejected the Bill - will have to rule on it. In the meantime, AAP units all over the country have highlighted the fact that several states have this post. So, if their MLAs have to be disqualified, so should other parliamentary secretaries. According to AAP, nearly 45 legislators of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal are holding such posts in other states. Party units in Punjab, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have made similar complaints to the respective chief electoral officers. If the ECI is to rule against the AAP's contention, it will lead to disqualification of the 21 legislators. While it will not affect the running of the Delhi government because the AAP currently has 67 MLAs in a House of 70, it will nevertheless be a black mark on the party's image.
Madhya Pradesh Assembly session begins today
The monsoon session of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly will begin on Monday. Amid reports that heavy rains have caused the Narmada to inundate several areas, the issue of floods is going to be foremost on the mind of MLAs. The session is likely to discuss the issue of reservation in promotions for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has already announced he will create a Cabinet sub-committees to decide the rules. The matter is also likely to appear again for a discussion in the apex court. The government will try to frame a policy in the House to avoid further controversy. The session will last 12 days and will have 10 sittings.
Uttarakhand Budget to be passed in special session this week
The Uttarakhand Assembly, where Harish Rawat was restored as chief minister recently, will see a special session to pass the state Budget. This is likely to be on July 21 or 22.
The session was supposed to have been held in early July, it could not be held as the recent deaths in Pithoragarh and Chamoli districts due to heavy rains were to be handled urgently. On April 1, the central government brought in an ordinance for allowing expenditure in Uttarakhand after the Centre considered the Appropriation Bill as "not passed" in the Uttarakhand Assembly. The Centre had also stated the "failing" of the Appropriation Bill on the floor of the House as the reason behind the imposition of President's Rule in the state. However, now that President's Rule has been lifted, the state will need to pass its own Budget. This will be done in the special session.
