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Journalism of Courage
After dilly-dallying for long, the Congress signalled Saturday that it would oppose the ordinance that took away substantial powers of the Delhi government, which has become a bone of contention between the Arvind Kejriwal government and the Centre.
The Congress, however, shied away from openly declaring its backing to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in its battle with the Centre. Instead, it framed the issue as an assault on the federal structure, during talks held by the party’s Parliamentary Strategy Group.
The AAP had linked its participation in the Bengaluru Opposition unity meeting to the Congress’s stand on the ordinance. After the first meeting of the Opposition parties in Patna on June 23, the AAP had declared that unless the Congress publicly opposed the ordinance, it would be “very difficult” for the AAP to be part of any alliance that included the grand old party.
The Parliamentary Strategy Group of the Congress held a meeting lasting one-and-a-half hours, which was chaired by CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi and attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior leaders of the party. It was the second meeting of the group this month.
“The Congress has always fought against the Modi government’s assaults on the constitutional rights and responsibilities of democratically elected state governments and local bodies. This assault comes directly and this assault comes from the appointees of the Modi government, like governors. The Congress party has opposed it. We have opposed it in Parliament. We will continue to oppose it. There is no question of not opposing it. This is a brazen assault on the Constitution,” Congress communications department head Jairam Ramesh said, when asked whether the party had discussed the ordinance issue. While his inference might have been obvious, Ramesh did not specifically mention the Delhi ordinance.
The Congress leader accused the Modi government of attacking the Constitution in several ways. “Constitutional bodies are weakened, Constitutional agencies are misused, Constitutional bodies are ignored. Let me give you one example. The National Commission on Scheduled Tribes clearly told the Modi government that we are against the rules on forest conservation… that it is against the tribals. But its views were ignored. So this is the way Constitutional bodies and the Constitution are treated. So we will oppose it in Parliament and outside Parliament,” Ramesh said.
Asked whether the Congress expects the AAP to attend the Bengaluru meeting, Ramesh said: “As far as I know, the AAP is one of the 24 (parties) coming to Bengaluru.”
However, the Congress promise still falls short of the demand by the AAP that the Congress commit to opposing the ordinance in the coming Monsoon Session, and doubt remains whether the AAP will be “satisfied”.
In a statement on June 23 after the Patna meeting, the AAP had said the Congress’ “silence” on the ordinance issue raised “suspicions about its real intentions”.
The AAP had said: “In personal discussions, senior Congress leaders have hinted that their party might informally or formally abstain from voting on the ordinance in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress’s abstention from voting on this issue will help the BJP immensely in furthering its attack on Indian democracy… The Congress’s 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 the Congress. Until the Congress publicly denounces the black ordinance and declares that all 31 of its Rajya Sabha MPs will oppose the ordinance in the House (the Opposition’s only hope is stalling a Bill to replace the ordinance in the Rajya Sabha), it will be difficult for the AAP to participate in future meetings of like-minded parties where the Congress is a participant. It’s high time the Congress decides whether it stands with the people of Delhi or the Modi government.”
