Arvind Kejriwal meets Mamata Banerjee: The meeting is scheduled around 2 pm. (file)
Kolkata:
In a new round of opposition rallies across the country, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Nabanna, the secretariat of state in Kolkata. The meeting comes after the union government issued an executive order overturning the Supreme Court ruling on transfers and secondments of officers favoring the Delhi government led by Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi party. The meeting is scheduled around 2:00 PM.
The main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, which has hitherto been at odds with the Aam Aadmi party, indicated on Monday that while it agrees in principle that the executive order of the Center on Transfers and Detachments in Delhi undermining the Supreme Court, they would rather take a collective decision on their stance to side with Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi party in parliament.
“The Congress Party has not made a decision on the issue of Ordinance filed against the SC Judgment on the Powers of the Government of NCT of Delhi in relation to the Appointment of Officers. It will consult its state units and other like minded parties on the same.
The party believes in the rule of law and at the same time does not condone unnecessary confrontations, political witch hunts and campaigns based on lies against political opponents by any political party,” Congress Secretary General KC Venugopal tweeted last night.
The Congress Party has not made a decision on the issue of the Ordinance filed against the SC Judgment on the Powers of the Government of NCT of Delhi in relation to the Appointment of Officers. It will consult its state units and other like-minded parties on this matter.
The party…
— KC Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) May 22, 2023
Other issues such as forming a collective strategy to tackle the BJP in 2024 could also be on the agenda if Mr Kejriwal meets Mamata Banerjee. The meeting comes after Mamata Banerjee has already met several opposition leaders from across the country, including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, RJD’s Tejaswi Yadav, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy. While all these leaders were excited about a common strategy, Mamata Banerjee has also met Naveen Patnaik, who has announced that he will stay away from any opposition formation.
Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav flew to Delhi on Sunday and met Arvind Kejriwal, who has proposed a Rajya Sabha “plan” that could be a “semi-final” for the general election.
Arvind Kejriwal will meet with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on May 24 and 25 respectively to discuss the plan to block the ordinance in the Rajya Sabha.
The center has justified the ordinance by saying that the dual authority and responsibility of the national capital will jeopardize security and erode the coordination required by the country’s governance.
Senior government officials explained to DailyExpertNews the five main factors that led to the Center’s decision.
Sources said the Center received extensive feedback from bureaucrats, particularly those working in Delhi. “Many have informed us that they cannot operate efficiently and are often accused of siding with the centre,” they said.
KC Venugopal also said on Monday that the opposition will hold a meeting in which many parties will participate.
His comments came after a meeting with Nitish Kumar, who is in charge of uniting the opposition parties against the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha polls.
