New Delhi (TIP)- The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday, June 22, said that it will find it difficult to attend future meetings of opposition parties where the Congress is present if the latter does not publicly denounce a controversial ordinance granting the Centre control over Delhi’s bureaucracy, highlighting fissures within the opposition camp.
Four leaders from the AAP – Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann, and parliamentarians Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh – attended the meeting at Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s residence, but hours later, the party released a statement strongly criticising the Congress.
The statement said that in the meeting, many political parties urged the Congress to publicly denounce the ordinance. “However, the Congress refused to do so,” added the statement that was issued even as other opposition leaders were speaking in a joint press conference in Patna, which the AAP leaders skipped. “In personal discussions, senior Congress leaders have hinted that their party might informally or formally abstain from voting on it in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress’ abstention from voting on this issue will help the BJP immensely in furthering its attack on Indian democracy. It is high time that Congress decides whether it stands with the people of Delhi or the Modi government,” the statement said.
In the meeting, people aware of developments said that Kejriwal insisted that the Congress must clarify its stand on the ordinance in this meeting. But Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge maintained that any such decision could only be taken after the Congress discussed the issue in its parliamentary party meeting. “We have a system in place,” Kharge said, according to the people cited above.
While the issue of the ordinance is important given that it has wider ramifications and is not limited to one state, the meeting was also a moment where opposition parties rose above their differences to forge a national political strategy and narrative.
Last month, the Centre promulgated an ordinance restoring to itself the power over services in Delhi by making a raft of major amendments in the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Act, 1991. The ordinance effectively rolled back a Constitution bench judgment of the Supreme Court that handed over control of the bureaucracy in the Capital to the elected government, excluding those connected to police, public order and land.
The ordinance is likely to be brought before Parliament in the upcoming monsoon session for approval, presenting a key challenge for Opposition unity. While several parties such as the Trinamool Congress, Left parties and Bharat Rashtra samithi have assured the AAP of support, the Congress is yet to make a public declaration.