The appointment of a nine-member Delhi Dialogue Commission by the government over the weekend has been perceived in the political and administrative circles of the Capital as an astute move to form a “think tank” which will provide policy directions for governance on the basis of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party’s vision and principles.
Similar bodies exist in several other States with the mandate to advise the respective Chief Ministers on the measures for sustainable development.
The Dialogue Commission in Delhi has gone one step further from the traditional advisory set-up largely comprising individuals considered close to the power structure. The Commission aims at providing a unique model of collaborative and inclusive development by taking into account the views of a cross-section of society, which will get a concrete shape with the help of experts in different fields.
It remains to be seen if the initiative, considered to be the first of its kind, succeeds in achieving the objective of providing good governance to the citizens of the Capital.
With a majority of the members in the Sixth Delhi Legislative Assembly being first-timers, Speaker Nam Niwas Goel had to remind the newly-elected legislators that they should be tapping the table and not clapping in case they wanted to appreciate anything being spoken by the party leaders and colleagues.
While all such legislative conventions went unnoticed on the first day, the Speaker, besides instructing the legislators, also reminded people in the audience gallery – largely relatives of AAP MLAs – not to react to anything and everything being said on the floor of the House.
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s West Delhi MP, Pravesh Singh Verma, was caught off guard during a Delhi Jal Board function in Dwarka on Sunday as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on a lighter note that he would “take Mr. Verma along with him when he goes to meet Haryana Chief Minister Jagdish Khattar and the Prime Minister”.
Mr. Kejriwal underlined that “his presence would perhaps help in ensuring that the Haryana Government releases water for Delhi and the Centre releases more fund for laying water pipelines in areas out of the piped water supply network”.
While Mr. Verma, who was sharing stage with the Delhi CM, was caught off guard, the remark spurred loud cheer from the audience full of AAP supporters.
(By Mohammed Iqbal,Jatin Anand andVishal Kant)
