Congress stalwarts against supporting AAP on Centre’s Delhi ordinance

Barely days after the Supreme Court ruled that the elected Delhi government should have total control over transfers and appointments of bureaucrats in the capital, the Centre lost no time in bringing in a special law, making the Lt Governor, who is appointed by the Centre incidentally, the final arbiter in the matter. The main opposition Congress is in two minds over extending support to the Aam Aadmi Party on the matter and a final decision is expected on Tuesday.

A meeting of key Congress leaders from Punjab and Delhi is currently underway over the Ordinance on the transfer of bureaucrats in Delhi. Senior Congress leaders Partap Singh Bajwa, Ajay Maken, Sandeep Dikshit and others are believed to be attending the meeting. According to people aware of the developments, the Congress party so far has not been keen on extending support to the AAP government on the issue citing a few crucial factors.

“The Congress Party has not taken any decision on the issue of the Ordinance brought against the SC judgment on the powers of the Government of NCT of Delhi with respect to appointment of officers. It will consult its state units and other like-minded parties on the same. The Congress believes in the Rule of Law and at the same time does not condone unnecessary confrontation, political witch-hunt and campaigns based on lies against political opponents by any political party,” Senior leader KC Venugopal clarified on Monday amid speculation that the Congress was unanimously supporting AAP over stalling the Ordinance.

Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken too has called out Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s flip-flops as far as the AAP’s relationship with the BJP at the Centre goes “Kejriwal has sought the support of the Congress, but his past political engagements have often raised questions. His party, along with the BJP, passed a resolution requesting the Centre to withdraw the Bharat Ratna from Rajiv Gandhi. Moreover, he backed the BJP both inside and outside Parliament on the Jammu and Kashmir issue. This support came when J&K was divided and reduced to a union territory, leaving its people disenfranchised for five years,” he wrote on Twitter.

Maken also reiterated that Kejriwal was the first to implement the controversial anti-farmer laws. His party also opposed the opposition’s candidate for the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson and instead supported the BJP-sponsored candidate. Kejriwal’s support for the BJP in Gujarat, Goa, Himachal, Assam, Uttarakhand, and in the recent Karnataka elections, have also been brought up by the Congress as they deliberate on whether to support the AAP as it takes on the Centre over the transfer and appointments of bureaucrats.

The Congress has pointed out that by backing Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, the party would be going against the decisions of numerous stalwarts like Baba Sahib Ambedkar, Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel, Lal Bahadur Shastri and more recently PV Narsimha Rao.

Congress leaders have also said if the ordinance does not go through, Kejriwal would get a unique privilege that had been earlier denied to Delhi Chief Ministers like Sheila Dikshit, Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma, and Sushma Swaraj.

The Centre through an ordinance has created National Capital Civil Services Authority to decide on postings and transfers of civil servants. Its members will include the Delhi Chief Minister, who shall be the Chairperson of the Authority, the Chief Secretary and the Principal Home Secretary. All matters required to be decided by the Authority shall be decided by majority of votes of the members present and voting. In case of a difference of opinion, the decision of the Lt Governor is final.

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