Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that the recently issued Ordinance for control of services in the national capital reflects the lack of faith of the Narendra Modi government in the Supreme Court’s verdict.
“By bringing the Delhi Ordinance, the BJP has made it evident that they are disregarding the verdict of the Supreme Court. This will be like a semi-final in the Rajya Sabha. If this Bill (ordinance) fails to pass in Parliament, the Modi government will not be coming back to power in the 2024 elections,” he asserted.
Mr. Kejriwal, along with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann and other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, met Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray at the latter’s residence ‘Matoshree’ in Mumbai, to seek support for his party’s fight against the Centre’s ordinance.
Also read: Explained | How will the new Ordinance affect ‘services’ in Delhi?
He accused the Centre of using the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate to topple State governments, and cited the collapse of Mr. Thackeray’s government as an example. “The Shiv Sena has promised to support the people of Delhi when the ordinance comes to the Rajya Sabha in the form of a Bill,” the Delhi Chief Minister said.
In agreement with Mr. Kejriwal, the Sena leader, whose party holds three seats in the Rajya Sabha, criticised the Central government for circumventing the apex court’s decision. “We have come together to defeat forces that are against democracy and save the country. Instead of labelling ourselves as the Opposition parties, it is fitting to consider the Centre as the true ‘opposition’ since their stance appears to contradict the principles of democracy and the Constitution,” the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra said.
Mr. Kejriwal said that the ordinance on the control of services in Delhi meant that the Modi government did not believe in the Supreme Court. “The ordinance implies that ‘how can the Supreme Court give a judgment against us [the Centre]’?” he said citing the BJP’s failed ‘Operation Lotus’ in Delhi as the reason behind the introduction of the ordinance.
Supporting the AAP leader, Mr. Thackeray said the Supreme Court’s order was important for democracy and, “If we miss the train this time, then there will be no democracy in the country. We have come together to save the country and the Constitution.”
On Tuesday, when the AAP’s national convener met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata, she too said that the ordinance had provided a “big opportunity” to defeat the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“The Centre, through the ordinance, took back all the powers given by the Supreme Court. In a democracy, power should vest in the elected government as it is accountable to people,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
Without explicitly mentioning the Prime Minister, the Delhi Chief Minister criticised the arrogance and selfishness of those in power, stating, “When one becomes very arrogant, he becomes very selfish. Such a person, who lives with such arrogance and selfishness, cannot run the country. This is not the fight for Delhi alone, but it is for democracy, the Constitution and federalism.”
He said that the BJP’s leaders and Ministers abused judges and labelled retired judges as “anti-national”. “They have given a message that we will bring an ordinance and overturn the Supreme Court’s decisions,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
Reacting to the meeting, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said that the very fact that Mr. Kejriwal was meeting Mr. Thackeray and vice versa showed that the BJP had the people’s mandate. “They believe in us and such meetings will not make any difference in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and even Maharashtra. Even if they come together it doesn’t matter. Such experiments have been attempted by the Opposition before but they failed,” he said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reacted along the same lines.
The AAP leaders will meet Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Thursday.
