‘Very difficult’ to be part of alliance with Congress if it doesn’t denounce Delhi ordinance: AAP

“Congress’ hesitation and refusal to act as a team player, especially on an issue as important as this one, would make it very difficult for the AAP to be a part of any alliance that includes Congress. Until the Congress publicly denounces the Black Ordinance and declares that all 31 of its RS MPs will oppose the ordinance in the Rajya Sabha, it will be difficult for AAP to participate in future meetings of like-minded parties where the Congress is a participant,” AAP said in a statement.

AAP said that Congress did not make its stand clear on the ordinance. The party, in an official statement, said that the grand old party’s “silence raises suspicions about its real intentions”.

“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… Today, during the like-minded party meeting in Patna, many parties urged Congress to publicly denounce the Black Ordinance. However, the Congress refused to do so,” the party said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal attended the Opposition meeting in Patna on Friday, along with others from the party – Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha.

“A total of 15 parties are attending the like-minded party meeting in Patna, out of which 12 have representation in the Rajya Sabha. Except for the Indian National Congress, all other 11 parties, which have representation in the Rajya Sabha, have clearly expressed their stand against the Black Ordinance and announced that they would oppose it in the Rajya Sabha,” AAP said.

It added that the Congress’s units in Delhi and Punjab, where AAP is in power, have announced that the party should support the Narendra Modi government on this issue.

AAP said that the ‘Black Ordinance’ aims to snatch the democratic rights of an elected government in Delhi and that it posed a “significant threat to India’s democracy and Constitutional principles”.

Calling the ordinance “anti-constitutional, anti-federalism, and outright undemocratic” and an “affront to the judiciary”, AAP said it was “high time that Congress decides whether it stands with the people of Delhi or the Modi government”.

The statement comes following a meeting of 15 opposition parties in Patna to discuss an anti-BJP alliance ahead of Lok Sabha polls in 2024.