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Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a Bill to merge the three municipal corporations in Delhi, with Home Minister Amit Shah dismissing Opposition charge that the Bill was beyond the legislative competence of Lok Sabha.

Replying to a debate on the Bill in Lok Sabha, Shah responded to remarks made by Opposition MPs who said the center was encroaching on the state’s rights, the Minister clarified that Delhi is a Union Territory and the Center has the right to make laws.

“We could not have made a similar law for Maharashtra, Gujarat or West Bengal,” Shah said.

Responding to Opposition charges of BJP being scared of the MCD polls, Shah referred to the Emergency and said that was the result of fear of losing polls.

He also said BJP is in power in a number of states and in the Center, has support if its NDA allies, and has no fears.

As some MPs drew parallel between Jammu And Kashmir and Delhi and said delimitation could be used as an excuse to not hold polls, Shah said the process of delimitation in J&K is almost over and elections will be held soon.

The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which was passed in Lok Sabha though voice vote, unifies the three Municipal Corporations in Delhi, and gives the center the control by replacing the word ‘government’ with ‘central government’ in the Act, and also provides for a fresh delimitation exercise.

The number of seats will be brought down to 250 from present 272.

It also provides for appointment of a ‘Special Officer’ to head the corporation until new representatives are elected.

“Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Central Government may, if necessary, appoint a person to be called the Special Officer, to exercise the power and discharge the functions of the Corporation until the date on which the first meeting of the Corporation is held after the commencement of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022,” said the Bill.