Rethink move to table bill on teachers, says Anil Baijal

New Delhi: The AAP and Opposition BJP are set to lock horns on a series of issues, including the proposed Metro fare hike and guest teachers Bill, in the one-day special session of the Delhi Assembly on Wednesday.

Lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal’s communication to the Centre to withdraw powers of Department Related Standing Committees (DRSC) of the Assembly may also be raised in the House on Wednesday.

Mr Baijal has also requested CM Arvind Kejriwal to reconsider the Cabinet’s decision to table a Bill related to regularisation of guest teachers in the Assembly on Wednes-day. In a letter to Mr Kejriwal, the L-G said that the Bill was not in accordance with the constitutional scheme of governance of the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi.

The Bill, cleared by the Delhi Cabinet last month, seeks to regularise about 15,000 guest teachers, hired on contractual basis. Mr Baijal said there was a detailed procedure under the Transaction of Business Rules for processing legislative proposals and introducing Bills, including mandatory consultation with the law department as to the competence of the Legislature of the capital to enact the measures proposed.

“The matter relating to ‘services’ falls beyond the legislative competence of the Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi,” Mr Baijal’s office said in a statement. Government sources said the Assembly would take the final call on the introduction of bill.

The ruling AAP legislators are also expected to raise the issue of Metro fare hike. Apart from this, the AAP and BJP MLAs may also seek to corner each other over the L-G’s move to withdraw the powers of House’s DRSCs.