What powers do Delhi Assembly committees have? New rules set to define
The powers of Delhi Legislative Assembly Committees, which have been a sore point between the BJP and the AAP of late, will be 'defined' in the Rules of Procedure of the House, Speaker Vijender Gupta said Monday.
Gupta also said that the language of the rules will be made gender neutral, since they only refer to members as 'he' at present. Another change is expected in the rules for Special Mention during Assembly sessions.
Leader of Opposition Atishi had raised the issue regarding the powers of Assembly committees after the amendment to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act in 2021, which curtails the power of these committees to look into day-to-day administration and administrative decisions.
In a letter to Gupta, Atishi had said that the Public Accounts Committee does not have the power to look into the CAG reports because of the amendment.
On Monday, Gupta said that the amendment did not affect the power of the Committees, and these will be defined in the new rules.
'The previous government misused committees. The amendments in the Act and how they impact the working of Committees will also be clarified in the rules,' he said.
Talking about the other changes, Gupta said, 'Rules are being reviewed to be brought at par with rules in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. They will be made to follow best practices. The process has started, and the draft is ready. The first meeting of the Rules Committee will be held on June 5.' Speaking about the Special Mention, Gupta said that the rules are defined.
'It talks only about raising matters that are points of order. It is being used very casually at present. We will bring it in line with norms in Rajya Sabha,' he said.
Deputy Speaker Mohan Singh Bisht added that for issues raised under Special Mention, officials would sometimes not respond. 'Now it will be ensured that questions are answered. If answers were wrong, there was no accountability. Next time onward, if questions are not answered by officials, they will be held accountable,' he said.
Gupta, meanwhile, also said that a report of 100 days of the House will be released on June 6.
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