Position paper

Topic Background- Here, one establishes their awareness about the topic. The topic
background typically provides a brief summary of the history of the issue and any
consequences it may have produced. It includes a brief summary of the agenda at hand and
the politician’s position on it.
The Inter-State Council conference would be a forum to discuss ‘federal’ system of India. It
would mainly take in consideration the status, governmental relations and power of the Union
Territories of India; emphasising on the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment)
Act 2021, a controversial political topic socially and politically.

- India through the years had lots of geographical and political changes. The formation of
the states during and after independence were as per the ‘States Reorganisation Act’
which was based on the area and the level of governance. The states were created as Part
A (provinces of former governor in British India, like, Bombay), Part B (Princely states
governed by Rajpramukh, for eg.: Hyderabad), Part C (Princely sates with chief
commissioners, like Ajmer) & Part D (only Andaman and Nicobar, governed by the
Lieutenant Governor).

Currently, India has 28 states and 8 Union Territories. The difference between states and
the union territories is, states each have its elected legislative assembly, however, the
union territories have a federal government, where the Parliament has greater degree of
power than over states. Since, Delhi has partial statehood, with an elected legislative
assembly and an appointed LG, the governance with respect to power distribution has
aroused conundrum. As per the NCT Amendment Act 2021, the central government has a
greater power at hand than the state government, causing serious conflicts. Powerful
bodies at the State Level such as the Delhi Development Authority and Delhi Police are
supervised by the centre. The executives under the Delhi Muncipal corporations are
appointed by ministries of the Union. 2015 saw a series of disagreements between the
Chief Minister- Arvind Kejriwal- and the then Lieutenant Governor- Najeeb Jung, also
leading towards cases filed in the Delhi High Court. The High Court’s final decision
made it clear that the substantial powers rested with the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi as,
without his approval, almost no action could be taken by the Delhi Government.
However, the Lieutenant Governor does not have the power to act independently as it
violates Article 239 AA, but should be informed of every decision that is taken in Delhi.
Final conclusion of the verdict was that while the Chief Minister is the executive head of
Delhi, the Lieutenant Governor would act as the administrator. The Aam Aadmi Party
Government of New Delhi along with many other opposition parties took strong objection
to it, alleging that it is designed to give greater powers to the Lieutenant Governor and
thus is an attack on the federal structure of the country.
Party Policy and Past Actions- This portion of the position paper addresses efforts taken by
one’s party pursuant to the agenda as well as efforts taken in one’s personal capacity. This
section provides the party’s stance as well as the steps that one’s party demands. It can also
include the steps taken by governments administered by one’s party. This section provides
the groundwork for presenting one’s unique solutions in the next section.

The Indian National Congress has been a part of Delhi’s development since the start. The first
Chief Minister of Delhi took oath on 27th March, 1952, where The National Congress won
under the leadership of Mr. Brahm Prakash Yadav. In 1955, Congress remained in power,
under Mr. Gurmukh Nihal Singh who served as the 2nd Chief Minister of Delhi. In 1995,
Congress party came back in power in 1998 post the NCT Act in 1991, wherein longest
female serving Chief Minister of Delhi was Ms. Sheila Dikshit from the Indian National
Congress, for three consecutive terms. We have also served as the central government for
many years. We as a party has always advocated existing policies, suggesting amendments &
collaborating or opposing policies proposed, for smooth governance. We understand our
country in depth and have grown and changed with it. As opposition party, our opinion on the
National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021 is that, it is unconstitutional and
will directly impact the federal and democratic system of Governance in the NCT Region.
Curbing the powers of an elected Govt. is not within the purview of the constitution of India.
The people of Delhi vote for the Govt. in Delhi region and such transfer of powers to a
nominated position, the Lt. Governor, take away the peoples right and authority with which
they have entrusted their elected representatives. The Amendment of the NCT act of 1991 in
2021 comprehends the following:
1) Substantial Powers to the LG
2) Assent for Bills,
3) Procedure of conduct of business,
4) Rule Making.
Based on this my interpretation, on the above, it takes away the governing powers of the
elected Govt. and it’s remains a constitutional body with no power and control of action. This
is a dictatorial act by the Central Govt. and such action will lead to a dangerous trend of
restricting powers of democratically elected representatives of and by the people.
Possible Solutions- This must include the most important solutions that the participant has
devised. These solutions will be essential parts of discussion in committee and contribute
greatly to one’s performance as a delegate.

As the NCT Act Amendment is unconstitutional in all ways, I strongly feel there should be a
balance of power between the elected legislative assembly and the appointed Lieutenant
Governor of the NCT region. Delhi is a very strategically located Union Territory with a
special status of National Capital Territory and being the power centre of the country, its
administration should be managed in the best possible way. It should continue to maintain the
best practices of federal government system and follow the democratic policy of the Indian
Constitution. A federal government is a structure of government where the state and the
central government, both have certain responsibilities or power while governing the territory.
Every Union Territory should have its independent judicial system with a high court within
the territory, similar to Delhi. It gives an opportunity for faster closure of legal cases of the
citizens and government agencies.

To have a prospering country the balance of power and a coherent governance is important.

The position paper must be in Font Size 12 in Times New Roman and must be no longer than
2 pages. It must also include a bibliography with all the important sources that have been
used in preparing the paper. The bibliography is over and above the maximum of two pages
for the substantive portion of the position paper. If plagiarism is found in any of the position
papers, points will appropriately be deducted.