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Statehood Bill introduced after Cong. nod: Advani

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI AUG. 25. Adding fuel to the controversy over the Delhi Statehood Bill-2003, the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, today said the Bill, in its present form, had the concurrence of the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, and was introduced only after getting a nod from the Delhi Government which had favoured incorporation of Article 371J into the Constitution which provided for certain residual powers to remain with the Centre's representative.

Mr. Advani conveyed this to a high-level delegation of the Delhi BJP which had called on him to "thank him for taking the historic decision of conferring Statehood status on Delhi". The delegation was led by the local BJP unit president, Madan Lal Khurana, and included the Union Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs, Vijay Goel, party spokesman, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Jagdish Mukhi, party MP, Lal Behari Tiwari, party chief whip, Nand Kishore Garg, and a number of other office bearers.

Mr. Advani's remarks could lead to a fresh round of war of words between the Congress and the BJP. The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, and Ms. Dikshit have already made their opposition to the Statehood Bill very clear much to the chagrin of the BJP leaders. Mr. Advani, according to a Delhi BJP release, said Ms. Dikshit had met him several times on the issue and he had advised her to take all parties into confidence on the issue.

The consensus that emerged was that while granting Statehood to Delhi, a special provision be made under Article 371 by adding clause `J' which could provide certain residual powers to be vested in the Centre's administrator, in this case the Governor.

The Deputy Prime Minister said it was not proper on part of Ms.Gandhi and Ms.Dikshit to oppose this Bill, and suggested that if they had any reservations on the issue, the same could be put before the Standing Committee on Home Affairs headed by the Congress leader, Pranab Mukherjee. The Government could dully consider those recommendations and make necessary changes.

Earlier, speaking on the occasion, Mr. Khurana said he was grateful to the Central Government for having responded to the aspirations of Delhiiites and termed the introduction of the Bill as a historic step. The Statehood status would go a long way in resolving the outstanding problems relating to Delhi. He said the guidelines issued for the Master Plan preparation would also provide big relief to lakhs of people. However, he lashed out at the Congress for opposing Statehood, which indicated that it did not want an end to the multiplicity of authority in the Capital. Mr. Khurana said Ms. Gandhi's remark that the Bill was a gimmick in view of the Assembly polls was an insult to the people of Delhi and supported the BJP's charge that Congress never wanted Statehood status for Delhi.

The Delhi BJP has already convened a meeting of its Executive Committee to discuss the situation arising out of the refusal of the Congress party to support the passage of the Bill in Parliament in its present form. The reservations expressed by the Congress president over the Bill have taken the BJP by surprise, which had been harping on the tune that Ms. Dikshit did not have the approval of the party high command on the stand she had adopted on the Statehood issue.

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