The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi ( Amendment ) Act

Dear Reader,

Today is the first Sunday of the month and hence I will write about legislation.

This week neither the Parliament nor any State Legislative Assembly has been in session so I cannot discuss any Bill introduced or Act passed this week. However an Act that was passed in March by Parliament was notified this week and hence I will write about it as it is the only legislative activity that took place in this week.

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act (GNCT), 2021.

It was notified by the Central Government on Wednesday, April 27th.

The Act amends the GNCT of Delhi Act, 1991, a legislation that provides framework for functioning of the Delhi Legislative Assembly and re-defines the Delhi Government as the Lieutenant Governor.

It says that the Rules made by the Delhi Legislative Assembly to regulate the procedure and conduct of business in the Assembly must be consistent with the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha.

The Act also prohibits the Legislative Assembly from making any rule that would let it (i) consider the matters of the day-to-day administration and conduct any inquiry in relation to administrative decisions.

Any provision in force having the above said effect will be void.

The GNCT (Amendment) Act also provided that the opinion of the LG must be obtained before taking any executive action on decisions of the Delhi Government on such matters as may be specified by the LG.

Leftist Analysis:

One of the fundamental principles of leftism is equality. In Constitutional matters this would mean that the Central and State governments would have equal standing.

This Act clearly places the Central Government in a position that is superior to the Delhi Government. It gives more power to the LG who is appointed by the Central Government. This can be seen in the provision to obtain the opinion of the LG before taking any executive action on decisions of the Delhi Government on matters specified by him.

It also states that the Rules of Conduct of Business in the Delhi Legislative Assembly are to be the same as those of the Lok Sabha. This means that the Act views the Rules of Conduct of the Lok Sabha to be superior to that of the Delhi Legislative Assembly.

This Act does not give the Central and Delhi Governments equal standing.

Therefore this is not a left-wing Act.

Rightist Analysis:

Right-wingers believe that there should be inequalities between the Central government and State governments.

This amendment to the GNCT makes the Central government superior to the Delhi government.

It increases the inequality between the Union Government and the government of the Union Territory.

Therefore this is a right-wing Act.

Authoritarian Analysis:

Authoritarians believe that the Central government should have more power than the State governments. This is especially true of Union territories which are territories that are controlled by the Union Government.

This Act gives the Central Government more power over a Union Territory.

Therefore this Act is an Authoritarian Act.

Libertarian Analysis:

Libertarians believe that State governments should have more power than the Central Government. This includes Union Territories. They believe that the Union Government should give some autonomy to the Union Territory, even though it runs it.

This Act gives the Central Government more power over a Union Territory.

Therefore this Act is not a Libertarian Act.

My Analysis

I agree with this Act in some parts and disagree with it in others.

I agree with it making it mandatory to get the opinion of the LG before any executive action and that it would not let the Legislative Assembly make rules relating to day-to-day administrative matters. I think that this is in line with the Constitutional vision of what a Union Territory is — a region that is run according to the directions of the Union Government but has some representation and autonomy of its own.

I disagree with it making it mandatory for the rules of the conduct of the business of the Delhi Legislative Assembly to be the same as those of the Lok Sabha. I do not think this is necessary at all. Delhi’s Legislative Assembly is elected by the people of Delhi and so it should be able to make rules for its own conduct in order to better represent the people of Delhi.

This is an Authoritarian, Right-wing Act.

Thank you for Reading.