Bhubaneswar: Coming under attack from Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for supporting the Bill to replace the Delhi Services Ordinance in Parliament, the BJD clarified its stand on the issue.
Speaking in Lok Sabha on Thursday, BJD’s Parliamentary Party leader Pinaki Mishra said Article 239 AA gives Delhi a peculiar and special position as Parliament has the power to enact the law. The BJD supports Parliament’s power to enact the Delhi Services Bill, he added.
“It is not a question of supporting the BJP. The BJD is only supporting Parliament’s power to enact this piece of legislation,” Mishra said.
Maintaining that the BJD has been keeping equidistance from BJDP and Congress, he said, “We continue to fight the BJP and we continue to fight Congress in our state.”
In an apparent reference to AAP’s warning that the BJP would not hesitate to topple governments of other states to serve its interests, the MP said, “Such a law cannot be brought with regard to Odisha, Rajasthan or West Bengal as the Constitution does not give such powers to the Centre.”
“Besides, everyone should await the scrutiny of the law …wait for the judgment of the court,” he added.
On Tuesday, BJD, which is Odisha’s ruling party, had extended its support to the Bill which gives the Delhi Lieutenant Governor more control over the transfer and posting of officials in the city government.
With support from BJD’s nine MPs in Rajya Sabha, the government will cross the halfway mark in the Upper House, where the BJP-led NDA does not have majority.
