NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that the Centre’s ordinance on Delhi will be the first agenda item in the meeting of opposition parties.
The meeting, scheduled to take place in Patna on June 23, will see the participation of prominent leaders from various non-BJP parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party National Convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.
Incidentally, the key opposition party Congress has not yet cleared its stance on the said ‘ordinance’.
The ordinance, which comes a week after the Supreme Court handed over the control of services in Delhi, excluding police, public order and land, to the elected government, seeks to set up a National Capital Civil Service Authority for the transfer of and disciplinary proceedings against Group-A officers from the DANICS cadre.
Transfer and postings of all officers of the Delhi government were under the executive control of the lieutenant governor before the May 11 verdict of the apex court.
Following the ordinance, Kejriwal has been reaching out to leaders of non-BJP parties to garner their support against the ordinance so that the Centre's bid to replace it through a Bill is defeated when it is brought in Parliament.
Speaking on this matter, Kejriwal said, “I hope that the Congress will make its stand clear, as all the other political parties in that meeting will ask the Congress about its stand.”
To reinforce his point, Kejriwal will also carry a copy of the constitution in the meeting to elucidate the implications of such an ordinance.
“ The central government has the authority to introduce similar ordinances on any subject within the concurrent list. Therefore, it is crucial for all opposition parties to come together and deliberate on this issue to ensure the protection of states' autonomy, “ Kejriwal added.
Addressing a press conference, He pointed out that by promulgating such an ordinance, the Centre can end up dissolving all the matters that come within the concurrent list of the Constitution of India.
In addition to this, Delhi CM also highlighted that just because this has only been promulgated in Delhi, which is often considered a "half-state", it does not mean that it cannot be promulgated in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Maharashtra.
(With inputs from PTI.)
