Delhi CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s campaign against the BJP-led Central Government on its unconstitutional Ordinance received a big boost as Bihar Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar announced his support for Shri Arvind Kejriwal. The Bihar CM, along with Deputy Chief Minister Shri Tejashwi Yadav and other leaders of the state, visited the residence of Shri Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday. Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Shri Sanjay Singh was also present in the meeting. Expressing his determination, Shri Arvind Kejriwal stated that the opposition must unite to defeat the Centre’s dictatorial ordinance in the Rajya Sabha. If we succeed in thwarting this unconstitutional Ordinance in the Rajya Sabha, it will be akin to the semi-final of 2024, sending a strong message that the BJP government’s days are numbered, he said. Emphasising the collective resolve, Shri Arvind Kejriwal added that the AAP has the support of Bihar CM Shri Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Shri Tejashwi Yadav, who stand firmly with the people of Delhi. Together, we will fight against the injustice inflicted by the central government, he said.
In further pursuit of garnering support, Shri Arvind Kejriwal announced his upcoming meetings with prominent opposition leaders. He is scheduled to meet CM Ms Mamata Banerjee on May 23, followed by discussions with presidents of all opposition parties across the country. We seek their support against the Centre’s unjust ordinance, he stated.
At the same time, after this CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal will also go to meet Shri Sharad Pawar and Shri Uddhav Thackeray. He will meet Shri Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai on May 24 and Shri Sharad Pawar on May 25 in Mumbai itself.
Shri Nitish Kumar, expressing shock and surprise, condemned the Centre’s decision to reverse the Supreme Court’s order, which hindered the elected government’s ability to fulfil its responsibilities. We are with CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal, and as opposition parties, we will jointly campaign across the country to protect the sanctity of the constitution, he asserted. Shri Tejashwi Yadav echoed the sentiment and expressed concern over the harassment faced by CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s government, even after the Supreme Court’s ruling. However, this will only make him stronger, and the BJP will never regain power in Delhi, he said.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Shri Arvind Kejriwal said, “I would like to thank Shri Nitish Kumar and Shri Tejashwi Yadav and all the other leaders who have come here with them today. The Supreme Court in its order had very clearly said that the government officials of the Delhi Government should be answerable to the democratically elected state government. But within eight days of the order being issued by the courts the Central Government brought an ordinance and overturned the court order. With the ordinance the Central Government has illegally snatched the powers that were restored to the state government and essentially given the LG the powers to run the National Capital. It was a unanimous decision of a constitution bench that was overturned by the Central Government within eight days,” he said.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal highlighted that the Bihar Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar and him had a detailed discussion on the ordinance that was promulgated by the Central Government. He added that the Bihar CM has lent his support to the Delhi Government and the people of Delhi and said that he will stand with us in this fight against the Central Government’s ordinance, which is illegal.
“Shri Nitish Kumar is currently involved in a movement that is trying to bring all the opposition parties on a common platform. The idea is to unite all the non-BJP parties. I have requested him that after the opposition parties unite, we would urge them to stand for the people of Delhi in the Rajya Sabha and oppose the illegal ordinance that has been promulgated by the Central Government. If this Bill is introduced in the Rajya Sabha, then we will get the opposition parties to defeat the government, and if we successfully manage to do that, then in some sense this will be a semifinal before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. An important message will be sent to the people across the country that in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections that the BJP government is on its way out,” he said.
He also added that he will be meeting other senior leaders of the opposition including West Bengal CM Smt Mamata Banerjee in the coming days. “On Tuesday, I will be meeting the Chief Minister of West Bengal Smt Mamata Banerjee at 3 pm. After that one by one, I will go and meet the political leaders of all the other parties across the country. I have today also requested Shri Nitish Kumar that he speak to other opposition leaders on this issue faced by the people of Delhi. I will also continue to meet all the political leaders and formally request them to defeat this Bill if it is presented in the Rajya Sabha,” he said.
Bihar CM Shri Nitish Kumar said that he was very happy when on 11th May, the Supreme Court unanimously gave its verdict in the favour of the Delhi Government. He also added that he was shocked by the manner in which the Central Government decided to trample the constitution after the SC order. “We have come to Delhi to meet Shri Arvind Kejriwal. When the Supreme Court order came out on 11th May, we were very happy that justice had been done with the state government here. But since then, whatever the Central Government has been involved in doing is very shameful. This country is supposed to be run following the ideal of the constitution. The Constitution of India clearly states that a state government cannot be bossed around by the Central Government. But what the BJP is doing at the Centre is shameful. This is the reason I am travelling around the country uniting all the opposition parties,” he said.
Shri Nitish Kumar pointed out how the AAP-led government in Delhi had been elected not once, but thrice, and that too with an overwhelming majority. He said that the residents of Delhi are proud of their state government and everyone has seen the incredible work that the Shri Arvind Kejriwal-led government has gone on achieve in Delhi. He said that the powers that are granted to the state government by the Constitution of India and reconfirmed by the Supreme Court, have suddenly been illegally snatched by the Central Government with this ordinance. “We are shocked at the way the Central Government is acting in this case. We have come here to fully show our support to the AAP-led state government and our attempt is to unite all the other opposition parties and to get them to fight the unconstitutional methods of the BJP-led Central Government. We will spread this message across the people in the country by holding rallies. We want to spread the message of peace and brotherhood and want to highlight these intentional tactics being used by the BJP to spread forces of division across the country.
Providing direct support to the demands raised by the AAP-led Delhi Government, he said, “We will provide complete support to AAP in its fight against the illegal activities of the BJP. Since we have had a detailed discussion in the morning, we are in agreement with the demands being raised by Shri Arvind Kejriwal in this issue,” he said.
Bihar Deputy CM Shri Tejashwi Yadav said that the reason behind today’s meeting with Shri Arvind Kejriwal was to show the support of the Bihar Government with them. He said that the BJP-ruled Central Government has constantly been troubling all the opposition-ruled states in the country and using unconstitutional methods to usurp power in these states. “We have come here to fully provide our support to the Delhi Government. For a long time now, the Central Government had been ill-treating the state government. Now when the Supreme Court order was issued, then the matter regarding the sharing of powers between the state and central government became very clear. But with the ordinance, the Central Government has once again done injustice to the people of Delhi. Similarly, the government has been troubling all the opposition-ruled stat government across the country. All of this clearly points to the fact that there is a threat to the democratic principles on which this nation has been established. The BJP wants to change the constitution of this country. But we will all fight together and will not let the BJP succeed in its ill-manifested attempts,” he said.
He concluded by saying that the more the BJP tries to trouble Shri Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi, the stronger the Delhi CM will go on to become. “If the BJP was in power in Delhi, then would the LG have done the kind of things that he has been doing over here right now. Of course, not. But I can say this with full certainty, the more they trouble Shri Arvind Kejriwal, the stronger he is going to become. One thing I would like to say is that the BJP will never be able to come to power in Delhi,” he said.
CM Arvind Kejriwal will meet Mamta Banerjee, Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray and seek their support
Talking to the media, Shri Arvind Kejriwal said that on May 23, he will go to Kolkata and meet Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee at 3 pm. After this, he will go one by one to meet the presidents of all the parties within the country. He has also requested CM Shri Nitish Kumar to talk to all political parties. CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal will go to every state and meet the leaders of each and every opposition party and when this bill comes in the Rajya Sabha, he will appeal to everyone to defeat it.
