New Delhi, Jun 27: Two days after 15 Opposition parties met in Patna to forge an alliance that aims to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, senior Congress leader Ajay Maken hit out at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the latter’s “desperate attempts” to seek support over the Centre’s 19 May Ordinance relating to transfers and postings of civil servants.

 

 

 

In his tweet Sunday, Maken pointed contradictions in the approach of Kejriwal and his party leaders and said the AAP “unabashedly ridicules” Congress leaders while simultaneously seeking the latter’s support to shoot down the Ordinance — Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023 — when it is placed as a Bill before the Rajya Sabha. The Congress’s Delhi and Punjab units have been up in arms against providing any support to the AAP over the Ordinance, with Maken and senior leader Sandeep Dikshit leading voices that give no room for the two parties to settle past differences.

 

 

 

The Centre’s Ordinance nullified the Supreme Court’s 11 May judgment, which ruled in favor of Delhi’s elected government having control of civil servants that work under it, while effectively giving more teeth to the Lieutenant Governor (L-G). The Ordinance allows the formation of a three-member body — the National Capital Civil Service Authority (NCCSA) — which is headed by the Chief Minister and has two Centre-appointed officers as its members to give recommendations to the L-G on transfers, postings, vigilance, and other incidental matters. The decisions are based on a majority of votes. “His [Kejriwal’s] proclamations of Opposition unity are not for cohesion but a calculated move to sabotage it and curry favor with the BJP. Past actions of the AAP in Parliament, the Delhi legislative assembly, or elsewhere only reinforce their surreptitious alliance with the BJP,” said Maken. Shortly after the Opposition meeting on Friday, the AAP issued a statement in which it criticized Congress for not making public its stance on the Ordinance. Further, it did not take part in the press briefing after the meeting, which was addressed by Opposition leaders. Last month, amid efforts to gather support from Opposition leaders against the Ordinance, Kejriwal also sought time to meet Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the issue but got none.

 

Also Read: Gathbandhan of Thugs: BJP on Opposition meet in Patna 

 

AAP sources familiar with the development had told The media Saturday that during the Patna meeting, Kejriwal requested Gandhi and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge for a one-on-one meeting to iron out differences between the two parties, but neither obliged. “He pointed out occasions where the AAP has supported the Congress, such as condemning Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from Lok Sabha. If the Congress is running away from a one-to-one meeting over the Ordinance, which is in the national interest, how can we be part of any alliance which includes them?” an AAP source said to The media. The source refused to comment on whether the AAP will take part in the next Opposition meeting in Shimla.