MUMBAI: Hitting out at the central government over the ordinance on control of administrative services in Delhi, former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre should be called ‘opposition’ as they are against “democracy and Constitution”.
In an effort to garner opposition parties’ support against the Centre’s ordinance on control of administrative services in the national capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray.
Addressing a joint press conference, Thackeray said, “We all have come together to save the country and democracy. I think we should not be called ‘opposition’ parties in fact they (Centre) should be called ‘opposition’ since they are against democracy and Constitution.”
Thackeray said that the Supreme Court’s decision on the ordinance was in favour of the people in the national capital.
“Kejriwal government has been elected by the public. What kind of democracy is it that the centre circumvents SC’s decision on the ordinance,” said the former Maharashtra CM.
This comes after the Union government on May 19 brought an ordinance to notify rules for the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) regarding the ‘transfer posting, vigilance and other incidental matters’.
Delhi Chief Minsiter Arvind Kejriwal said that if the ordinance bill does not pass in the Parliament then in 2024, the Modi government will not be coming back to power.
“Uddhav Thackeray has promised us that they will support us in the Parliament and if this bill (ordinance) does not pass in the Parliament then in 2024, the Modi government will not be coming back to power,” said Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal.
He was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, AAP Rajya Sabha members Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha, as well as Delhi Minister Atishi.
Earlier on Tuesday, Delhi CM Kejriwal met with his West Bengal and Punjab counterparts, Mamata Banerjee and Bhagwant Mann respectively in Howrah.
Kejriwal said that if a bill related to the Centre’s Ordinance is nullified in the Rajya Sabha, then it would be a semifinal of the next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
“I think if the Ordinance by any chance couldn’t be passed in the Rajya Sabha, then it would be a semifinal of 2024,” Kejriwal said.
Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the Central government wrested the powers of transfers and postings of services from the Delhi government in 2015.
“As soon as our government was formed for the first time in 2015, the Central government passed a simple notification and wrested all the powers of the elected government over the control of services,” Kejriwal said. (ANI)