BJP’s Delhi journey: From Metropolitan Council in ’60s to staying out of power for 27 yrs

After the tenure of the interim assembly from 1966 to 1967 nether the chairmanship of Jag Parvesh Chandra, the archetypal Metropolitan Council from 1967 to 1972 saw a bulk authorities of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, led by president Lal Krishna Advani, who went connected to go a apical person of the BJP and Deputy Prime Minister. This was followed by the Jana Sangh becoming a portion of governments successful respective different Indian states.

“The Delhi Metropolitan Council, which gave the Jana Sangh the accidental to signifier its archetypal authorities with a poorn bahumat (full majority), was dissolved successful the twelvemonth 1990. The BJP gave the Delhi Legislative Assembly its archetypal Chief Minister successful Madan Lal Khurana successful the twelvemonth 1993, followed by Sahib Singh Verma and past its archetypal pistillate CM, Sushma Swaraj,” said South Delhi BJP MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, who was portion of the archetypal Legislative Assembly.

After being deed by hawala allegations – implicit which Khurana tendered his resignation making mode for Verma – but was aboriginal absolved, Swaraj would pb the enactment successful the House earlier the BJP authorities was ousted implicit the contented of inflation successful bulb prices successful the twelvemonth 1998. The sons of some the erstwhile BJP CMs – Harish and Parvesh, who won from the Moti Nagar and New Delhi constituencies, respectively – volition beryllium among the 48 members of the incoming Assembly.

With the Congress’s Sheila Dikshit being sworn successful arsenic Chief Minister, the BJP would stay connected the margins of Delhi’s governance for adjacent to 3 decades. “This is the archetypal clip successful astir 27 years that the party, again with a afloat bulk of its own, volition get the accidental to service the radical of the Capital astatine the Assembly level,” Bidhuri, who served arsenic Leader of Opposition successful the House earlier being elected to the Lok Sabha past year, added.

S K Sharma, erstwhile caput of the Lok Sabha and Delhi Assembly, recalled the mounting up of the Delhi Assembly successful 1993. “Politicians who utilized to get elected [in Council] wanted much power. They would accidental that radical travel to them with problems and that they didn’t person the powerfulness to bash anything,” helium said.

He said the archetypal Assembly successful 1993 functioned wrong the limits of Article 239AA. The Delhi Assembly could not legislate connected matters of instrumentality and order, land, and police. Article 239AA of the Constitution of India, which came into effect connected February 1, 1992, provided for a Legislative Assembly for the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

“It was precise wide that this [Delhi Assembly] is not a legislature similar others. It has limitations. It was not envisaged arsenic a parallel institution. We had told them [Khurana government] that the powerfulness of this instauration is constricted and they utilized to recognize that. Even Sheila ji utilized to recognize that,” helium said.

The Delhi State Legislative Assembly archetypal came into being connected March 7, 1952, nether the Government of Part-C States Act, 1951. After recommendations of the State Reorganisation Commission successful 1955, Delhi ceased to beryllium a Part-C State from November 1, 1956, and the Legislative Assembly was abolished with Delhi becoming a Union Territory nether the nonstop medication of the President.

In effect to demands for a antiauthoritarian setup and connected the ground of the recommendations of the Administrative Reforms Commission, the Delhi Administration Act, of 1966 was enacted, providing for a unicameral deliberative assemblage – the Metropolitan Council – with powers of proposal erstwhile it came to matters of governance, and an Executive Council consisting of 1 Chief Executive Councilor, 3 Executive Councilors, 56 elected members and 5 different members nominated by the President.