A day after the President refused assent to the Delhi government’s Bill to shield 21 MLAs, appointed as Parliamentary secretaries, from the ambit of office of profit law, a senior Home Ministry official told The Hindu that another significant Bill related to a proposed 400 per cent hike in the salaries of, and the extension of additional perks to, Delhi legislators was hanging fire.
Even as Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi held a meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the issue of 21 AAP MLAs, the official said three of the 14 Bills passed by the Delhi Assembly since the AAP government came to power in February 2015 were pending with the Centre “due to lack of response from the Delhi government.”
Refutes allegation
A senior Delhi government official, however, refuted the allegation and took on the Home Ministry saying that the officials concerned seemed to be unaware that the Bills in question were in their possession for prior consultation with the Centre as per the directions of the Lieutenant Governor (LG).
The Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Government of NCT of Delhi (salaries, allowances, pension) Amendment Bill, 2015, that proposes an increase in salary of Delhi MLAs was still stuck as the Delhi government did not reply to queries posed on financial implications of the Bill.
Similarly, another Bill to upgrade the Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology, currently affiliated to Delhi University, into a separate State university was also in limbo.
“We are examining the Bills chronologically, that is in the order they were passed and sent to us by the Delhi government through the LG’s office. We have sent queries and have not got response on at least three Bills, which include the salary Bill,” said a senior MHA official.
Prior consultation
The Delhi government official said: “As per our information, the Bills in question are with the Home Ministry at the instructions of the LG who insisted that these be subjected to prior consultation with the Centre which, in this case, is the Ministry of Home Affairs.”
Meanwhile, sources privy to developments that followed in relation to the Bill seeking to protect 21 AAP MLAs from disqualification with retrospective effect which were reported by The Hindu on Tuesday indicated that the Bill was shot down almost immediately after being sent to the Attorney-General for opinion.
“When the Centre [the MHA] sent the Bill for the A-G’s opinion, the Law Ministry immediately responded saying that the Bill didn’t even warrant consideration as it was so obviously against the Representation of the People Act, 1951,” said the MHA source.
