Inspired by Britain’s vote on whether to remain a part of the European Union (EU), the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday said that it’s time to have a similar referendum on full statehood for Delhi.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed his support for the move in a tweet.
After UK referendum, delhi will soon have a referendum on full statehood
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 24, 2016
The Delhi Statehood Bill has been pending for long. On May 18, the AAP government proposed the draft of the State of Delhi Bill 2016, where it sought administrative power including law and order, police and land to be handed over to the Delhi government while letting the New Delhi Municipal Corporation be under the Centre’s control.
Kejriwal had said, “Yeh hum apne liye thodi na maang rahe hai. Jo BJP aur Congress ka puraana sapna hai, usi ko aage badha rahe hain (We are not seeking this for ourselves. It was the Congress and the BJP’s dream. We are taking it forward).”
“Broadly speaking, we will let the land and police in the NDMC area be under the Centre’s control. This will include Lutyen’s zone and the Delhi Cantonment area.”
AAP member Ashish Khaitan also tweeted:
After the UK referendum on EU exit, it's time to have a referendum on full statehood of Delhi. In a democracy the will of the ppl is supreme
— Ashish Khetan (@AashishKhetan) June 24, 2016
Meanwhile, Britain voted in favour of leaving the EU, which has sent shock waves across markets all over the world. In the aftermath, PM David Cameron announced that he will be quitting and a new PM would be in place by October.