Delhi bill: Chandrababu Naidu's TDP to back Centre in Parliament
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), led by N Chandrababu Naidu, has decided to support the central government in passing the Delhi services bill in Parliament, reported NDTV. The regional party from Andhra Pradesh, which parted ways with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2018, has three MPs in the Lok Sabha and one MP in the Rajya Sabha.
TDP to support Centre against no-confidence motion
Reportedly, Naidu's party—which brought a no-confidence motion against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in 2018—has also planned to back the Centre against the opposition's no-confidence motion. Earlier, Odisha's Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Andhra Pradesh's Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) announced their support to the Centre to assure that the bill would be comfortably passed in both Houses.
NDA will easily clear bill in Parliament
Both the BJD and YSRCP have nine members each in the Rajya Sabha. Their support was crucial for the NDA, as it does not have a full majority on its own in the Upper House, which has a halfway mark of 120. With the TDP, BJD, YSRCP, and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Centre now has the backing of 127 MPs.
Why Delhi bill is controversial
Meanwhile, 109 MPs, including members of the INDIA camp and independents, will vote against the bill. The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, replaces an ordinance that seeks the Centre's complete control over Delhi's bureaucracy. The government issued it to allegedly override the Supreme Court's ruling, which said the Delhi government would take decisions related to bureaucrats in Delhi.