New Delhi: Taking a swipe at the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) for pledging support for the bill to replace the Delhi services ordinance, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday said he failed to understand what merit they found in the legislation.
I can understand BJP MPs supporting the Delhi Services Authority Bill, but I fail to understand what merit in the Bill was found by the BJD and YSRCP parties
Have the two parties (ruling parties in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh) found merit in the 3-member Authority where the Chief…
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) August 1, 2023
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Chidambaram said, “I can understand BJP MPs supporting the Delhi Services Authority Bill, but I fail to understand what merit in the bill was found by the BJD and YSRCP parties.”
Chidambaram wrote, “Have the two parties (ruling parties in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh) found merit in the 3-member Authority where the Chief Minister will be just one against two officers appointed by the central government?”
“Have they found merit in the provision where the two officers can constitute the quorum and hold a meeting and take decisions without the participation of the Chief Minister?”
“Have they found merit in the provision where the two officers can overrule the Chief Minister?”
“Have they found merit in the provision where the LG can overrule even a unanimous decision of the Authority?”
“Have they found merit in the provision that empowers the central government to define the “powers and duties” of the officers working in the Delhi government to the exclusion of the ministers of the Delhi government?”
“Have the two parties realised that if the Bill were passed, the officers will be the masters and the ministers will be the subordinates?”
Chidambaram’s tweet came hours after the BJD on Tuesday extended its support to the bill replacing the Delhi services ordinance in a boost to the treasury benches, especially in Rajya Sabha.
The BJP also backed the government against the no-confidence motion brought by opposition parties.
Last week, Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) functionaries had said that the party will vote in favour of the government in Rajya Sabha when it takes up the bill to replace the Delhi Services ordinance next week.
