Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Monday sought the Union Law Ministry’s opinion on whether the State government has to seek the Centre’s approval before tabling any legislative Bill in the Assembly.
While the Delhi government has maintained that there is no need for prior approval, Opposition parties and many experts have asserted that clearance of all Bills is necessary under the Transaction of Business Rules (TBR), 2002.
In a statement, the L-G’s office said that to avoid any dispute in the matter, Mr. Jung had sought a “final opinion” from the Law Ministry.
“Despite the predominant view that there is need to send the proposed Bill for prior consent to the Union government through the L-G, the Chief Minister feels that there are opinions to the contrary and he has obtained the legal opinion on the same. To avoid any dispute in the matter and to obtain full clarity, the matter has been referred to the Ministry of Law and Justice for a final opinion on the constitutional position,” the statement said.
Earlier, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called on Mr. Jung. He said the Lt. Governor was in a dilemma.
“On the one hand there is the Constitution, [and] on the other, there is Home Minister’s order. We consider the order unconstitutional. If the Centre says we have to send every Bill to it and take their approval, then what’s the relevance of the Delhi Assembly.”
