Chaos Over Delhi Bill In Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister's Speech Cut Short

Opposition protests over the new Central bill giving more powers to Lieutenant Governor in Delhi disrupted Rajya Sabha for a second consecutive day.  As MPs raised slogans condemning the government, Finance Minister Nrmala Sitharaman was forced to cut short her reply to the debate on Finance Bill after verbal clash with the Trinamool Congress over implementation of Central schemes.

The Trinamool Congress has said it has rushed its MPs to Delhi specifically to counter the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, which has already been cleared by the Lok Sabha and now has to pass the Rajya Sabha test.

The proposed law gives more powers to the Lieutenant Governor -- the Centre's representative in Delhi -- compared to the city's elected government.

The opposition has been demanding that the bill be sent to a Select Committee.

"You have lost the election twice, so you have brought the bill," said Aam Aadmi Party's Sanjay Singh, referring to the BJP's consecutive losses in the assembly elections and the continued feud with the Delhi government over the last six years.

"I want to say to the people of the ruling party --  the system of administration in Delhi, as it stands today, was arrived at after 69 Constitutional amendments. The bill is wrong and undemocratic. This is saying Lieutenant Governor means government... Today, two crore people of Delhi have stood up for justice," he added.

"It is a matter of taking away the authority of the elected government here and giving it to LG. It is against the constitution. It should not become a law," said the Congress's Mallikarjun Kharge.