GNCTD Bill murder of democracy, move to target AAP government: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot

He said the BJP could abolish the powers of any government by bringing such laws if it loses elections in a state

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday urged opposition leaders to rise above party lines to oppose the “dictatorial decision” to “curtail” the powers of the Delhi government through an Act of Parliament.

Gehlot said that the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act was passed by Parliament to curtail the powers of the Delhi government.

The senior Congress leader described the Modi government action as “murder of democracy” and urged opposition leaders to rise above the party line against this decision.

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“If it goes on like this in the time to come, the Modi government can abolish the powers of the state government by bringing such laws if BJP loses the election in any state,” Gehlot said.

“This dictatorial decision of the Modi government should be opposed at the national level by rising above the party line,” he said.

Earlier this week, Parliament passed the GNCTD Act that delineates the role of the Lieutenant Governor and the elected government as interpreted by the Supreme Court in its rulings in July 2018 and February 2019.

Gehlot claimed that the Bill passed by Parliament amounted to abolishing the power of an elected government. “Earlier the Supreme Court had clearly ruled that the elected government is the real head of Delhi,” he said.

Gehlot accused the Modi government of wanting to run the country in a fascist manner.

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“Electoral malpractices, horse-trading of elected MLAs, and when failing in both, it resorts to passing such a dictatorial bill on the strength of its majority in Parliament. This is how the Modi government rules,” the Rajasthan chief minister said.

Gehlot said while in opposition, BJP used to demand more rights by giving full statehood status to Delhi.

“Prime Minister advocates cooperative federalism but in reality, the NDA government is imposing decisions on state governments by enacting such laws,” Gehlot said.