Amid a bitter tussle with the Narendra Modi Government over the control of administrative services, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is working on a strategy to defeat the ‘ordinance’ in the Rajya Sabha.
As Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday extended “complete support” to him in the AAP Government’s ongoing tussle with the Centre over the control of administrative services, Kejriwal will now meet Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on May 23 in Kolkata; Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on May 24 and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar on May 25 to seek their support in Rajya Sabha.
“After that, I will meet every party’s president to seek their formal support for defeating the Bill when it comes in Rajya Sabha,” Kejriwal said.
The AAP convener also urged Bihar Chief Minister to mobilise other leaders and parties in this regard to support them in the Upper House. An ordinance has to be ratified by Parliament within six months for which, the Centre will have to bring a Bill for its passage in both Houses of Parliament.
Sunday’s meeting was the second between Kumar and Kejriwal in over a month. Kejriwal said if the Bill is defeated in Rajya Sabha, it will send out the message that the BJP will lose the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “It will be the semi-final of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” the AAP national convenor told reporters. Earlier on Sunday, Kumar who was accompanied by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, and party leaders Manoj Jha, Lalan Singh and Sanjay Jha, met his counterpart Kejriwal at his residence on Flag Staff road in the morning emphasising his commitment to strengthening Opposition unity for the forthcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
At the meeting, Kumar claimed that the ordinance is "against the Constitution" and declared his “complete support”, for the AAP leader on the ordinance issue which gives control of services back to Delhi Lieutenant-Governor.
After the meeting, Kumar said the Delhi ordinance move by the Centre was very surprising. He criticised the Centre for promulgating the ordinance after the Supreme Court’s verdict in the matter. "How can you take away an elected Government's power," the Janata Dal (United) leader asked. "Look at the Constitution and see what is right. Whatever he (Kejriwal) is saying is right.
We are completely with him. We stand with Kejriwal. We are trying to bring together all Opposition parties in the country," he said. Kumar said Kejriwal is doing good work in Delhi and it's surprising that his Government is being stopped from doing its work. "That's why we are saying that all (Opposition parties) in the country should come together," he said. The Bihar Chief Minister assured that he will make efforts to bring Opposition parties together in support of Kejriwal.
Extending his party's support to Kejriwal, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav alleged the Centre is "continuously troubling and harassing" non-BJP Governments in different States.
"We have come here to extend our support to Kejriwal. The BJP Government is doing injustice to him," he said. Yadav said the way the Centre is harassing the Kejriwal dispensation in Delhi and Governments of other parties in different States is not justified at all. Sunday's meeting was the second between Kumar and Kejriwal in over a month. Kumar had earlier met Kejriwal here on April 12 as part of his efforts to bring all Opposition parties together ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. With Kejriwal's relations with the Congress far from smooth, Kumar has the task of building some kind of a working relationship between the two as he also sees the grand old party as critical to any Opposition unity bid.
Kejriwal was among the few non-BJP Chief Ministers who were not invited by the Congress to the swearing-in ceremony of its new Government in Karnataka on Saturday, an event which was seen as a show of strength by Opposition parties. Kumar, on the other hand, had attended the event.
The Centre promulgated the ordinance on Friday to create a National Capital Civil Service Authority for transfer of IAS and DANICS cadre officers and disciplinary proceedings against them. This came a week after the Supreme Court handed over the control of services, excluding those related to police, public order and land, to the elected Government in Delhi.
