The dates for the Delhi Assembly elections, which the entire country was waiting for, have been announced by the Election Commission. The elections will be held on February 5th. It is known to everyone that the Delhi government has very limited powers. Many important matters like land and police in Delhi come under the central government. Now, one can imagine the weak position of a government that does not have control over the police. Since Delhi is the capital of the country, the echoes of political activities here resonate throughout the country.
Consider that Delhi is not going to get the status of a full-fledged state. Therefore, there is every possibility that the tension between the central government and the Delhi government will continue even after the elections. It is to be noted that the struggle over the issue of the distribution of powers between the central government and the Delhi government had already started when the Congress government was formed in Delhi under the leadership of Chaudhary Brahm Prakash in 1952. That struggle is going to continue further. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been accusing the central government of not giving it enough powers so that it can do its work. When the AAP or its top leader Arvind Kejriwal criticizes the center, then Chaudhary Brahm Prakash is remembered. He would bring the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Home Minister Govind Ballabh Pant into the conversation. He used to say - "I was running the government well in Delhi. But Nehru ji and Pant ji removed me from the post of Chief Minister because I started demanding more powers for the Delhi government." Brahm Prakash remained the Chief Minister of Delhi from March 17, 1952 – February 12, 1955. After removing Brahm Prakash from Delhi, the Congress high command made Gurmukh Nihal Singh the Chief Minister of Delhi. He was a Sikh. He was a freedom fighter. But the central government dissolved the Delhi Legislative Assembly on October 1, 1956. Gurmukh Nihal Singh's son S. Nihal Singh has also been the editor of the Indian Express.
After the Delhi Legislative Assembly was dissolved in 1956, the central government had direct control over the Delhi administration. Yes, during this period, the Delhi Municipal Corporation and Metropolitan Council were formed. Delhi got its Legislative Assembly again during the tenure of Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. Then Madanlal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma, Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit became the Chief Ministers of Delhi. During this period, there were governments of different parties at the Center and in Delhi. But overall, the work of the Delhi government continued without any hindrance or obstruction. Yes, there has been a demand for giving more rights to the Delhi government.
How did Delhi get the status of a state again in 1991 and the assembly elections were held here in 1993? The Delhi Legislative Assembly was dissolved in 1956. After that, there was a continuous demand from BJP (formerly Jan Sangh) and Congress that Delhi should get the status of a full state. Although BJP was at the forefront in making this demand. BJP considered Delhi to be its own. It also had a base here. The Jan Sangh was founded in Delhi in 1951. The demand for granting full statehood to Delhi gained momentum again in the 1970s. During that period, Mrs. Indira Gandhi had imposed emergency in the country in 1975 and then the Janata Party government was formed at the Center in 1977. Then the Jan Sangh merged into the Janata Party. At that time, the Jan Sangh leaders were demanding that it is necessary to give full state status to Delhi for its all-round development.
The demand for making Delhi a full state also started rising from the side of the Congress. In the last years of the 1980s, this demand became very vocal. There were continuous sit-ins and demonstrations. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was formed in 1980. The BJP suffered a crushing defeat in the 1984 Lok Sabha elections in Delhi. All its big leaders lost the Lok Sabha elections. Then BJP felt that it would stand up again with the demand for full statehood for Delhi. Due to this demand, the political activity in Delhi became intense.
In 1987, the central government constituted a committee headed by Justice R.S. Sarkaria. Later its name was changed to Justice Balakrishnan Committee because Sarkaria Saheb had resigned. This committee had to find out how necessary it was to reorganize the system of Delhi. The Balakrishnan Committee spoke to various important political parties and enlightened citizens of Delhi. Everyone was of the opinion that it should get the status of a full state. In the absence of this, the national capital is not developing. After this, accepting the recommendations of the Balakrishnan Committee, the central government introduced a bill in Parliament in May 1990. Its purpose was to give statehood to Delhi. Anyway, Delhi got the status of a state in 1991. In the 1993 assembly elections, Madan Lal Khurana became the Chief Minister of Delhi. But it can be said that the Delhi Legislative Assembly got only symbolic powers. The possibility of getting full statehood for Delhi remained a distant dream.
After the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came to power in Delhi in 2015, the earlier harmony and coordination between the Center and the Delhi government came to an end. A continuous Mahabharata started on the point of division of powers between the Narendra Modi government at the Center and the Kejriwal government in Delhi.
It is noteworthy that Delhi is neither a full state nor a union territory. It has the status of "National Capital". Delhi is counted among the big states of the country in terms of population. It would be better if the central government makes a clear policy regarding this. The situation of dispute remains in Delhi because the distribution of powers is not clear.
In the ongoing tussle between the central government vs. the Delhi government, the Congress has been seen standing with the Modi government. Senior Congress leaders Ajay Maken and Sandeep Dixit have been continuously criticizing the Kejriwal government. These two are still making serious allegations against Kejriwal. Maken has even called Kejriwal anti-national. Ajay Maken says that a committee constituted under the leadership of Babasaheb Ambedkar had submitted a report on Delhi on October 21, 1947. In this it was said that "As far as Delhi is concerned, we feel that the capital of India can hardly be placed under any local administration."
The situation of Delhi is special. There are also foreign embassies and high commissions here. Therefore, it cannot be completely handed over to the Delhi government. But the central government will also have to stop interfering in the working of the Delhi government through the Lieutenant Governor. Anyway, there should be an all-round development of the capital of the country. In this regard, the central and Delhi governments will have to work together.

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