This Article is From Jun 24, 2016

Your Move, Arvind Kejriwal. Centre Returns 14 Bills, Not Cleared

Your Move, Arvind Kejriwal. Centre Returns 14 Bills, Not Cleared

Sending back the bills, the home ministry said "proper procedure was not followed."

New Delhi: All 14 bills sent by the Arvind Kejriwal government in the past year have been returned by the Centre, in an escalation of unrelenting hostilities between the two.

Sending back the bills, which include the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s pet proposal for an anti-corruption Lokpal, the home ministry said "proper procedure was not followed."

The AAP government has been told that its bills need to be verified before they are introduced in the state assembly as Delhi is a Union Territory.

A furious Mr Kejriwal tweeted: "We sent them 10 times after completing the procedure. They have no intention of passing the bills. They are interfering in every way."

Meanwhile, denying Arvind Kejriwal's allegation, sources in Lieutenant Governor office told NDTV that "report regarding 14 bills being returned is incorrect".

Earlier this month, President Pranab Mukherjee refused to clear legislation that would have protected 21 AAP lawmakers appointed parliamentary secretaries but facing disqualification for holding offices of profit.

Since Mr Kejriwal took charge last year after winning the Delhi polls, not a single bill passed in the assembly has been cleared by the Centre. In the 70-member AAP-dominated Delhi assembly, the BJP has only three members and the Congress has none.

AAP alleges that the BJP is using its powers at the Centre to impede the AAP government at every step. Recently the Delhi government said it would not present any new legislation unless the bills are cleared by the Centre.

"Modiji, I appeal to you again - show some heart, forget your defeat in Delhi and don't take it out on the people of Delhi," Mr Kejriwal tweeted.

This morning, the Chief Minister had said that "soon", Delhi would have a Brexit-style referendum to decide on full statehood.  Delhi is not a full state and some important functions like policing and land are under the Centre's control.

AAP says the bills sent to the Centre are very important for Delhi - they involved a new university and changes to labour laws.

"If the Lokpal had been in place, corruption would been rooted out," said an AAP leader.
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