Full statehood to Delhi: Kejriwal govt to make Draft Bill public soon

New Delhi: Adhering to the promises made to the people of Delhi , the Aam Aadmi Party is soon to make public its Draft Bill on full statehood for Delhi, seeking their suggestions in this regard.

"Draft Bill for Statehood of Delhi ready. Will be soon placed in public domain for comments n suggestions from public," tweeted Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday afternoon.

The government said that the Draft Bill will in particular put emphasis on the area falling under the ambit of New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and will be governed by the NDMC Act.

In its election manifesto, the AAP had promised to render Delhi full statehood. Both Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress had made a similar promise to the locals of Delhi..

As the full statehood demand is common across the political spectre, the AAP government is hopeful that it would be able to garner support from these parties.

"Elections in Delhi since 1993 have been fought on the issue of full statehood. Therefore, the Draft Bill should be presented in Parliament, where the stand taken by various parties, particularly the Congress and the BJP, will be central to its passage," said AAP's Delhi convenor Dilip Pandey.

The Draft Bill will be made public in the coming week. Once the consultation process is over, the Draft Bill will be tabled before the Delhi cabinet, followed by a resolution that will be tabled in a special session of the Delhi assembly," said government sources.

The resolution will further recommend for a constitutional amendment, which will only be done by Parliament, they added.