New Delhi: 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.
Sh. .@ArvindKejriwal seeks @INCIndia‘s help for the ordinance, yet unabashedly ridicules our esteemed leaders, including Sh. @ashokgehlot51 and Sh. @SachinPilot in Rajasthan. His ministers place prerequisites on our alliance, while their chief spokesperson publicly disparages… pic.twitter.com/kIgGu9NBM8
— Ajay Maken (@ajaymaken) June 25, 2023
The Centre’s Ordinance nullified the Supreme Court’s 11 May judgment, which ruled in favour 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 favour 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 criticised the Congress over not making public its stance over 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.
AAP sources familiar with the development had told ThePrint Saturday that during the Patna meet, 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 national interest, how can we be part of any alliance which includes them?” an AAP source said to ThePrint.
The source refused to comment on whether the AAP will take part in the next Opposition meet in Shimla.
Congress unrelenting
The AAP source cited above noted that Kharge had also expressed displeasure over recent statements made by the AAP leaders against the Congress — including Kejriwal aggressively going after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
“Rahul Gandhi told Kejriwal that the latter’s eagerness to meet shows that he is up to some mischief. Gandhi said the party follows a process behind holding meetings and on how the party will act on the Ordinance,” said the source.
Despite interventions from senior leaders such as Sharad Pawar and Mamta Banerjee, who advised the two parties to sit down together and resolve their differences, the Congress did not entertain a one-to-one conversation, the source added.
