L-G red flags AAP’S teachers bill before Assembly debut
STUCK LEGISLATIONS
FLASHPOINT? Anil Baijal tells Delhi government to reconsider the proposed legislation to regularise guest teachers, ruling AAP defiant
NEWDELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party government’s proposed bill to regularise 15,000 guest teachers may meet the fate of 12 previous legislations that were either rejected or returned with objections by the Centre.
All pieces of legislations that are passed by the Delhi assembly are sent to the Union home ministry by the L-G, who, according to the Delhi High Court, is the administrator of Delhi.
The Kejriwal government had called a special one-day session on Wednesday to introduce and pass the The ‘Regularisation of Services of Guest Teachers and Teachers engaged under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan Bill, 2017’. But, on Tuesday, lieutenant governor Anil Baijal asked the government to reconsider the bill since it was not in “accordance with the constitutional scheme of Delhi government” .
As per a letter to the CM, the L-G pointed out that the matter pertains to services which falls under the L-G’S purview. However, the government feels that the bill relates to education and it is empowered to legislate.
Now, even if the bill is and passed by the Delhi Assembly, where the AAP has an overwhelming majority, the bill will have to be ratified by the L-G and the Centre.
The Opposition BJP has also objected to the introduction of the bill.
“I, and the three other BJP MLAS, will ask the government how could it table the bill in the Assembly without L-G’S approval,” said leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta.
However, AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said in a statement that the BJP was trying to spread confusion over the government’s decision to regularise guest teachers.
“Last month, the Delhi Cabinet Bill: Delhi MLA (Removal of Disqualification) Act 2015 Status: rejected by President MLA salary Bill 2015 Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill, 2015 The CRPC (Delhi Amendment) Bill, 2015
Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill DUSIB (Amendment) Bill, 2015 Delhi (Right of Citizen to Timebound Delivery of Services) Amendment Bill, 2015 took a decision to regularise Kashmiri Migrant teachers and the L-G approved that decision. If the Cabinet can decide to regularise Kashmiri migrant teachers, why can’t it regularise guest teachers?” Bharadwaj asked.
In June 2016, as many as 14 bills passed by the Delhi Assembly – including the Jan Lokpal Bill – were returned by the Centre, citing procedural lapses. Some bills Delhi School (Verification of accounts and refund of excess fee) Bill, 2015 Delhi School Education (Amendment) Bill, 2015 The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education, Delhi Amendment Bill The Delhi Netaji Subhas University of Technology Bill, 2015 The Working Journalists and other newspaper employees (Condition of services) and Miscellaneous Provisions (Delhi Amendment)
Bill, 2015 were returned as the government had not taken prior approval from the L-G while in some, clarifications were sought.
The Delhi Netaji Subhas University of Technology Bill, 2015, Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill and Delhi (Right of Citizen to Time-bound Delivery of Services) Amendment Bill, 2015 were passed again in August 2017, after they were sent back.