NEW DELHI: A storm seems to be brewing over the reported stand of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit at Group of Ministers (GoM) meetings opposing any Constitutional amendment to provide relief to lakhs of traders across the Capital. As if this were not enough, Ms. Dikshit is also going to introduce a resolution in the Delhi Assembly seeking relief for the affected traders and implementation of the proposed new Master Plan for Delhi-2021 but skips any mention of the traders' demand for amnesty or bringing in a Constitutional amendment.

"We are shocked by the stand of the Chief Minister. She has been maintaining a different face in public and during interactions with us but has been talking in a different tone inside the meetings of GoM. This is unacceptable to us and we demand that the Union Government should fulfil its promise made by Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy and the Congress Coordination Committee headed by AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot that if need be a Constitutional amendment would be carried out to save the traders," said Confederation of Associations of Indian Traders (CAIT) general secretary Praveen Khandelwal on Wednesday.

According to highly placed sources, despite a general consensus that if need be the Government could even bring about a Constitutional amendment, the Chief Minister and Union Law Minister H.R. Bhardwaj are understood to have opposed during GoM meetings any Constitutional amendment to place the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006, in Schedule IX of the Constitution putting the party and the Government in an embarrassing situation.

It is learnt that Ms. Dikshit has been pressuring the GoM to direct the Union Urban Development Ministry to notify the new Master Plan for Delhi to provide relief to the traders. "The new Master Plan will only ensure proper development and growth for future. It cannot provide relief to illegal activity that had happened during the previous Master Plan period. This is a totally wrong view by the Chief Minister and her supporters which needs to be corrected as it is harming the image of the Congress party," sources remarked.

This stand of the Chief Minister has been carried forward in the resolution she proposes to bring up on the first day of the Delhi Assembly session beginning October 30. According to the notice given to the Assembly Secretariat under Rule 90 by Ms. Dikshit, the resolution is to be taken up on the first day itself. The resolution clearly skips the demand for a Constitutional amendment or bringing an amnesty scheme and instead tries to pass the buck on to the Union Urban Development Ministry.

The resolution states: "This House expresses its grave concern at the prevailing fear, panic and uncertainty in large segments of the population arising from the sealing drive of MCD despite various enactments and notifications both by Parliament and the Union Government which will render lakhs of people jobless in the city. The House resolves that the sealing drive be stopped immediately till the finalisation of the Master Plan for Delhi-2021 by the Union Government. The House further requests the Union Urban Development Ministry to finalise the Master Plan for Delhi-2021 at the earliest and to move the Supreme Court to suspend operation of its orders till notification of the Delhi Master Plan-2021."

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