Bhubaneswar: As expected, the Governing Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has announced its full support to the Union Government in passing of the bill replacing the Delhi Services Ordinance.
The BJD led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has also decided to oppose the no-confidence motion proposed by various opposition parties against the Narendra Modi Government, party’s Rajya Sabha Member and National Spokesperson, Sasmit Patra said on Tuesday.
“Biju Janata Dal has decided to support the passing of the Delhi Bill (Delhi Services Bill) and we will be opposing the no-confidence motion brought by the opposition. In this regard, a three-line whip has been issued by the party, both through the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha MPs to be present in the house and do the needful…”, he said.
The BJD’s support to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Rajya Sabha is crucial as, unlike Lok Sabha, the BJP does not have a clear majority in Rajya Sabha. The Opposition Bloc INDIA also does not have a clear majority, which means that both the blocs have to rely on support from non-aligned parties like BJD.
The decision of Odisha’s ruling party will help the Modi Government at the Centre move closer to the halfway mark in Rajya Sabha, where the BJP-led NDA does not have full majority on its own. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has nine MPs in Rajya Sabha.
With the nine MPs of BJD, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) tally rises to 109.
As of now, INDIA has 108 MPs with it. It has 101 MPs of its own and seven MPs of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) are set to vote with it as the party has issued a whip to them in this regard.
In the 245-member house, the majority-mark is 120 as some seats are vacant. If all the seats would have been occupied, the majority-mark would have been 123.
There are still four non-aligned parties, five nominated MPs, and three Independents, whose position will decide whether the bill would sail or sink.
The Delhi Services Bill, formally called the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, seeks to replace an ordinance that the Union Government promulgated in May. The bill effectively overturned a Supreme Court order in May that gave the elected government of Delhi powers in all spheres except policing, public order, and land.
This is not the first instance, on several occasions, the BJD has always come to the rescue of the NDA Government in passing crucial Bills and also elections for important Constitutional positions.
