Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday warned states ruled by Opposition parties that the Centre will introduce ordinance to take over control of services like it has done in Delhi, PTI reported.
Kejriwal was addressing a rally at Ramlila Maidan in the national capital, held as a mark of protest against the Centre’s ordinance allowing he Union government to have control over bureaucrats in Delhi.
On May 19, the Centre had promulgated the ordinance to create the National Capital Civil Service Authority to administer the transfer and posting of bureaucrats serving the Delhi government. The ordinance nullified the May 11 Supreme Court verdict that the Aam Aadmi Party government in the national capital has legislative power over bureaucrats in all departments other than public order, police and land.
On Sunday, Kejriwal said that the ordinance showed that dictatorship, and not democracy will prevail in Delhi. “It doesn’t matter who the people choose, I will run Delhi, Modiji says,” the Delhi chief minister said. “...I have heard they are planning to bring a similar ordinance for the rest of the country as well...It will be brought in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh.”
Besides Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Delhi minister Gopal Rai and party MP Sanjay Singh also addressed the rally. Former Union minister Kapil Sibal was also present, whom the AAP said had been invited as an expert of the Constitution.
In the lead up to the rally, Kejriwal has been holding meetings with leaders of Opposition parties to garner support against the ordinance. Since ordinances cease to exist if not approved by Parliament within six weeks of convening, the Centre will need to introduce a bill in the upcoming Monsoon Session to get legal status for its move.
Nine Opposition parties have expressed support for the Aam Aadmi Party – Samajwadi Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Trinamool Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Nationalist Congress Party and Janata Dal (United).
The Congress, which currently has 31 MPs in the Rajya Sabha, has not yet decided on whether to support the Aam Aadmi Party.
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