Will Kejriwal's Bullying in Delhi End?

The national capital, Delhi, is once again in the headlines regarding its governance structure, and when it comes to headlines, no one can surpass Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in this art. On Monday, the central government introduced the Delhi National Capital Territory Government Amendment Bill in Parliament. The bill has just been introduced; there is no information yet on when it will be brought before the parliament or when it will be passed! But this was enough for Arvind Kejriwal. After a long time, Kejriwal once again reached Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Wednesday to hold a dharna and protest. Kejriwal's relationship with Jantar Mantar is quite old. In a way, Jantar Mantar is the birthplace of the Aam Aadmi Party. In 2011, when Anna Hazare held a dharna and then a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar demanding the Lokpal Bill, Kejriwal was a junior leader who was constantly seen on Anna's stage. Anna's movement was suspended, and Kejriwal, against Anna's wishes, formed a new political party and moved on, so far ahead that he even forgot Anna.

Last year in February, the Aam Aadmi Party won the Delhi Assembly elections for the second consecutive time with a massive majority. Before Kejriwal could advance his politics of dharna and protest, he had to remain silent due to the outbreak of the corona pandemic. After remaining silent for about a year, Kejriwal is now back on the path of confrontation with the center and protest to get his way. The bill introduced by the central government in parliament has provisions to remove uncertainty and deadlock over the governance structure in Delhi. Just one sentence has agitated Kejriwal; the bill states that the government in Delhi means the Lieutenant Governor, which is absolutely unacceptable to him. It is not possible for Kejriwal to report to someone or have to take permission from someone. He wants full statehood for Delhi so that there is no one above him. Since Delhi is also the nation's capital, Delhi can never get full statehood in its current form. The demand for full statehood is quite old. Before Kejriwal, there have been four other chief ministers in Delhi; all of them demanded full statehood before the public, but they did not do anything to fulfill the demand as Kejriwal is doing. It is a sad truth that all four former chief ministers -- Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma, Sushma Swaraj, and Sheila Dikshit are no longer in this world. They all knew that making a demand is one thing, but its implementation is almost impossible. During Sheila Dikshit's tenure, the Congress party was also in power at the center; if she had wanted, it might have happened, but Sheila Dikshit knew that if Delhi became a full state and a party whose relations with the central government were not cordial came to power in the state, then chaos would erupt in the entire city.

The current governance structure in Delhi is quite complicated. Whatever government is in power at the center, its argument is that nowhere else in the world does a national capital have the status of a state. But Delhi's case is unique. No one knows exactly whose jurisdiction extends where in the city. There are three municipal corporations in Delhi city, a separate New Delhi Municipal Council for the 42 square kilometer area of the National Capital Region, the Delhi Cantonment Board for the Delhi Cantonment area, and in the midst of all this is the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which owns the land in Delhi. New areas remain under the DDA until the development work is completed. The NDMC, Cantonment Board, and DDA are under the central government. Above all of them is the Delhi government, above the Delhi government is the Lieutenant Governor, and the Lieutenant Governor is the representative of the central government. Law and order, police, and land in Delhi are under the central government. The Delhi government has authority over all other subjects, but the Lieutenant Governor's permission is necessary before making a new law through the assembly or taking many important executive decisions. This system has been in place since 1996, but controversy and deadlock began after Kejriwal became the chief minister. The most ridiculous and controversial was Kejriwal's nine-day dharna at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi in January 2018. For nine whole days, the Delhi government was run from the road. For those who don't know, Vijay Chowk is the place around which the Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Prime Minister's Office, and major ministries are located. Kejriwal also knows the importance of January 26 for India, but he was adamant that the center should listen to him, otherwise he would sit on dharna at Vijay Chowk on January 26 as well, the day people from home and abroad come to see the Republic Day parade. In 2018, not one but presidents or prime ministers of 10 countries were to come as chief guests. After much pleading and struggle, Kejriwal packed up his belongings from Vijay Chowk.

One argument against giving Delhi full statehood is that a chief minister like Kejriwal, if angry with the center, could withdraw the security of the President and Prime Minister, and cut off the electricity and water to the Parliament House to create pressure and get decisions in his favor. After Puducherry, Delhi is the second union territory to have a provision for an assembly. Jammu and Kashmir will be the third such union territory, but that too only after elections there! Kejriwal's creation of a controversy over the new bill can also be understood. Exactly one year later, elections will be held for the three municipal corporations of Delhi, which have been under the control of the BJP for the last 15 years. He might not be able to win the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections by sitting quietly, so creating controversy and practicing the politics of controversy is part of Kejriwal's policy. It is also possible that in the future, the central government may announce the creation of a separate and full state for the entire Delhi NCR. In such a case, parts of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh adjacent to Delhi could be included in the new state. The central capital will not be a part of this state. And if this happens, Arvind Kejriwal's dominance over Delhi will end because, despite Kejriwal's best efforts, the Aam Aadmi Party has not yet established a hold in the neighboring states of Delhi.