‘Not for me, this fight is for democracy’: Kejriwal to Congress on support over Delhi services ordinance

Asked about Congress’s response to his request to meet Rahul Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge on the services matter, Kejriwal said, “I saw news reports and their statements. I want to tell you that you are not supporting Kejriwal here or this is a fight for Kejriwal. This is for democracy and the Constitution. The ordinance will destroy the Constitution and democracy and will not let the government work in Delhi. So, the Congress should stand against the ordinance. ”

He added, “The Modi government is running its dictatorship in Delhi, taking away the rights of the people of Delhi. Today I met senior CPI(M) leader Shri Sitaram Yechury ji and other leaders of the party and discussed this issue. All leaders believe that the Modi government is doing injustice to the people of Delhi. The CPI(M) had taken out a rally in support of the people of Delhi. It will also support the people of Delhi in Parliament.”

Over the last week, Kejriwal has met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to seek their support in his fight against the Centre.

On May 11, the Supreme Court passed a judgment in favour of the Delhi Government on the issue of who has control over the bureaucracy in the National Capital, giving the AAP government the power to transfer and post bureaucrats.

However, on May 19, the Centre brought in an Ordinance — aimed at nullifying the effect of the apex court’s decision — extending powers to Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor over services in the administration of the region.