Kejriwal says Uddhav Thackeray's assured help in AAP's fight against Central ordinance on Delhi bureaucrats

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday that former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has promised to help the Aam Aadmi Party against the Central government’s ordinance taking control over Delhi’s bureaucrats to circumvent the Supreme Court order in favour of the Delhi government.

Kejriwal met Thackeray at his Matoshree residence and was accompanied by Delhi minister Atishi, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha.

Thackeray told the assembled media said that they had come together to save the country and democracy. He thought that they should not be called opposition parties, in fact, the BJP government should be called the opposition since they are against democracy and the Constitution.

After a 8-year-long battle, Kejriwal said, the AAP government had got the right to run Delhi from the Supreme Court. Within eight days, the Central government took back those rights by issuing the ordinance. He said democracy was in danger and the BJP was running a campaign against the judge. He said the Shiv Sena government was toppled with help from the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation. Kejriwal also said the BJP tried Operation Lotus in Delhi to buy AAP MLAs. Without naming PM Narendra Modi, the Delhi CM said such a person cannot run the country. He is living for his ego. He said that if this happens, this government (the BJP government at the Centre) will not come again in 2024.     

On Tuesday, Kejriwal and Mann met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata as part of their nationwide tour to win support for AAP’s fight against the Central ordinance.

The AAP government stated that the Centre’s move to introduce an ordinance to create authority for transfers and postings of Group A officers in Delhi is an act of deception after the Supreme Court verdict over control of services.

The Supreme Court handed over the control of services in Delhi, excluding police, public order and land to the elected government. One week later, the Centre brought the ordinance which seeks to set up a National Capital Civil Service Authority for transfer of and disciplinary proceedings against Group A officers.