Pro-govt parties to ensure Delhi Bill’s smooth passage in Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: After YSRCP, Navin Patnaik’s BJD on Tuesday announced support to the bill to replace the ordinance that overturned the Supreme Court order which gave the Delhi government a say in appointment of bureaucrats to its administration.

Announcing BJD’s decision, Sasmit Patra said his party had issued a 3-line whip and it will support the GNCTD Bill in both Houses and oppose the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha. On the question why BJD supported the GNCTD Bill, Patra said, “we will share details of the matter on the floor of the House.”

The decision will ease the passage of the contentious bill in the Rajya Sabha, where the government does not have a majority. When a similar bill came up in 2021, BJD chose to walk out while YSRCP supported the legislation. Both parties have nine MPs each in the RS.


Though BJP is the largest party in the Rajya Sabha with 93 members, NDA has only 104 MPs in the House that can have a maximum of 245 members. With seven vacancies, the government requires 120 votes to pass the bill.

Both BJD and YSRCP, which claim to maintain equidistant from both BJP-led NDA and joint Opposition alliance, have supported the ruling dispensation in the RS in passing contentious laws. Other parties such as BSP, TDP and JDS, which claim to oppose BJP, have also always sided with the BJP government on crucial legislation in the past.