Arvind Kejriwal seeks time from Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi amid tussle with Centre over ordinance issue

The Chief Minister also wrote to Modi about his decision to boycott the NITI Aayog in protest against the Centre's ordinance

Stepping up his campaign against the Modi government on Delhi ordinance, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced the boycott of NITI Aayog meeting besides seeking time from top Congress leadership for support amid the latter’s state units.

Kejriwal will also fly to Hyderabad on Saturday to meet Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to “support against unconstitutional and undemocratic ordinance”.

The Chief Minister wrote to Modi about his decision to boycott the NITI Aayog in protest against the ordinance to negate a Supreme Court order that gave control over bureaucracy to the Delhi government.

Kejriwal asked where would people go for justice if the Prime Minister does not obey the Supreme Court verdict. He said the Prime Minister should allow non-BJP governments to work and added, “What is the point of attending the NITI Aayog meeting when cooperative federalism is a joke.”

He also approached the Congress for support by seeking time from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi even as Delhi Congress leaders warned their top functionaries.

"Sought time this morning to meet Cong President Kharge-ji and Rahul Gandhi-ji to seek Cong support in Parliament against undemocratic and unconstitutional ordinance passed by the BJP government and also to discuss the general assault on the federal structure and prevailing political situation," Kejriwal tweeted.

Soon after, senior Congress leaders from Delhi reacted to Kejriwal's tweet, asking the leadership to keep in mind the workers' sentiments.

Also Read | Kejriwal meets Sharad Pawar over Centre's ordinance, NCP chief assures support

Senior leader Ajay Maken, whom the AAP accused of working at the behest of the BJP, said that the AAP was "actively disseminating misinterpretations and erroneous information" regarding the power dynamics within the Delhi Government. "Kejriwal, seemingly hungry for authority, aims to divert attention from his own corruption and inefficiency," he said.

Alka Lamba, another senior leader, tweeted that AAP should first apologise to Congress, Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Sheila Dikshit and workers would not have any problem in such a scenario. "I hope Congress president Kharge-ji will keep in mind the sentiments of workers of Congress who were insulted by the AAP," she said.

The AAP supremo had on Friday said in Mumbai that he would be reaching out to Kharge and Rahul on the issue, even as Congress' Delhi and Punjab units have sounded scepticism over supporting the party. Kejriwal believes that if the Opposition can defeat the Bill to replace the ordinance in Rajya Sabha, it would be a setback for the BJP and set the tone for the Lok Sabha polls.

Also Read | Ordinance on control of services in Delhi means Modi govt doesn't believe in Supreme Court: Kejriwal

Kejriwal has so far met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (JD-U) and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav (RJD) on Sunday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool Congress) on Tuesday, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar on Thursday against the ordinance to negate Supreme Court verdict that gave Delhi government the control over bureaucrats.

Congress has so far not announced support for the fight against the ordinance, saying it will first consult with its state units and other like-minded parties, basically due to a pushback by Delhi and Punjab units which are at loggerheads with the AAP.

On May 22, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal tweeted, "The Congress Party has not taken any decision on the issue of the Ordinance brought against the SC judgement on the powers of the Government of NCT of Delhi with respect to the appointment of officers. It will consult its state units and other like-minded parties on the same."

"The (Congress) party 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," he had said.

Senior Congress leader from Delhi, Ajay Maken, is at the forefront of the campaign against supporting AAP, highlighting how the Kejriwal-led party joined hands with the BJP to pass a resolution seeking the withdrawal of Bharat Ratna to Rajiv Gandhi as well as how it is against the Constitutional scheme of things.

The AAP has accused Maken of misleading the people of Delhi to side with the BJP with Delhi Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj asking Congress not to mislead its leaders.