Discuss the essentials of the 69th Constitutional Amendment Act and anomalies, if any, that have led to…

Question

Discuss the essentials of the 69th Constitutional Amendment Act and anomalies, if any, that have led to recent reported conflicts between the elected representatives and the institution of the Lieutenant Governor in the administration of Delhi. Do you think that this will give rise to a new trend in the functioning of the Indian federal politics?

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

The 69th Amendment gave Delhi an elected Assembly and ministry while keeping police, public order, land and a vague 'any matter' referral power with the Lieutenant Governor, which bred conflict after 2015. An MHA notification of May 2015 vesting services in the LG triggered the sharpest of these disputes.

**Introduction**

The 69th Amendment, 1991 inserted Articles 239AA and 239AB, giving Delhi an elected government while keeping it a Union Territory. Since 2015, rival parties at the two levels have turned that compromise into friction.

**Essentials of the 69th Amendment**

SKETCH: comparison | Two Power Centres in Delhi
a: Elected Government
b: Lt. Governor
- State and Concurrent List :: Police, public order, land
- Aids and advises :: Refers to President
- Answers to Assembly :: Answers to Centre

1. **Assembly and ministry**: A directly elected Assembly and a Council of Ministers capped at 10% of its strength, headed by the Chief Minister.
2. **Parliament's primacy**: Parliament may legislate on any matter for Delhi, and Article 239AB allows suspension if the machinery fails.

**Anomalies Behind the Recent Conflicts**

1. **"Any matter" proviso**: The LG may refer any difference to the President, a vague clause used to stall routine files.
2. **Silence on services**: An MHA notification of May 2015 vested services in the LG, sparking the row over the acting Chief Secretary.
3. **Split policing and probes**: Delhi Police answers to the Home Ministry, and the Anti-Corruption Branch was barred from acting against Central employees.
4. **Judicial reading**: The Delhi High Court (August 2016) held the LG to be the administrative head, not bound by advice.

**A New Federal Trend?**

1. **Wider confrontation**: Puducherry's Kiran Bedi episode and Governor-state rows over assent to Bills echo the pattern.
2. **Limits of the template**: Delhi is sui generis, so its design cannot be copied onto full states.

**Conclusion**

Delhi signals confrontational federalism wherever rival parties rule the two levels, yet it is a political strain on a unique design, not a new model; constitutional trust, as the Supreme Court stressed in 2018, restores balance.

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