Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday, 26 May, has sought a meeting with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge for their support in the Parliament to oppose the Centre's ordinance on control of services in Delhi.
"Sought time this morning to meet Congress President Kharge ji and Rahul Gandhi ji to seek Congress support in Parliament against undemocratic and unconstitutional ordinance passed by the BJP government and also to discuss the general assault on the federal structure and prevailing political situation," Kejriwal tweeted.
What Is the Delhi Services Ordinance Issue?
The transfer and posting of officials have been a key point of contention between the Centre and the Kejriwal-led Delhi Government.
On 11 May, the Supreme Court passed a judgement in favour of the Delhi Government on an issue of who controls the bureaucracy in the national capital, granting the AAP government the authority to transfer and post bureaucrats.
The Centre on 19 May, then brought in an Ordinance designating the Lieutenant Governor (LG) as the administrator of Delhi, with final say over all postings and transfers of officials serving the Delhi government.
The ordinance, promulgated by President Droupadi Murmu, seeks to amend the Government of National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi Act, 1991, essentially overturning the 11 May decision of the Supreme Court .
The ordinance also provides for creating a National Capital Civil Service Authority and a Public Service Commission for overseeing officer transfers and postings.
Meetings With Mamata, Pawar, and Uddhav Thackeray
Kejriwal has been meeting with leaders of various opposition parties to gain enough support in the Rajya Sabha to try and defeat the Centre's ordinance on the control of Delhi bureaucrats.
Earlier this week, Kejriwal met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.
Banerjee assured Kejriwal that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) would oppose the bill if it came up in the Parliament, while Pawar said that he would reach out to other states in order to foster consensus among the opposition parties.
“If we succeed in thwarting this unconstitutional ordinance in the Rajya Sabha, it will be akin to the semi-final of 2024, sending a strong message that the BJP government’s days are numbered,” Kejriwal said earlier.
On Sunday, 21 May, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar visited Kejriwal's house Civil Lines.
Congress Leaders Oppose Supporting AAP On Ordinance Issue
Congress leader Alka Lamba responded to Kejriwal's tweet, "AAP should apologise to Congress, ex-Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, late ex-CM Sheila Dixit and Gandhi family. If things go forward, we Congress workers will not have any objections. We hope Congress president Kharge ji will consider the sentiments of party workers which were hurt by AAP."
Earlier, on 23 May, in a lengthy Twitter post, Congress leader Ajay Maken detailed administrative, political, and legal reasons of not supporting Kejriwal's position on the ordinance.
"...anyone backing Kejriwal and opposing the ordinance is essentially going against the wisdom and decisions of Pandit Nehru, Baba Sahib Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, Lal Bahadur Shastri, and Narasimha Rao," Maken tweeted.
Kejriwal reaching out to Congress and other Opposition parties could be significant amid the ongoing efforts to forge unity among opposition parties against the BJP ahead of the 2024 national election.
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